Through the Thirties, the Laws were promulgated by the Portland Club of London and the Whist Club of New York. From the Forties onwards, the American Contract Bridge League Laws Commission has replaced the Whist Club, while the British Bridge League and European Bridge League have supplemented the Portland Club's efforts. The 1975 Laws were also promulgated by the World Bridge Federation Laws Commission as they have been in 1987 and the current version.
This latest revision supersedes the 1987 Code on September 1, 1997. Zonal authorities may implement the new Code any time after March 1, 1997. In the American Contract Bridge League the revised laws are effective on May 27, 1997.
In the 1975 Laws and prior, words such as may, should, shall and must were used without much discrimination; in 1987 they were rationalized, and the practice is continued in the current Laws. When these Laws say that a player "may" do something ("any player may call attention to an irregularity during the auction"), the failure to do it is in no way wrong. A simple declaration that a player "does" something ("... dummy spreads his hand in front of him ...") establishes correct procedure without any suggestion that a violation be penalized. When a player "should" do something ("A claim should be accompanied at once by a statement ..."), his failure to do it is an infraction of law, which will jeopardize his rights, but which will incur a procedural penalty only seldom. In contrast, when these Laws say that a player "shall" do something ("No player shall take any action until the Director has explained ..."), a violation will be penalized more often than not. The strongest word, "must" ("before making a call, he must inspect the face of his cards"), indicates that violation is regarded as serious indeed. Note that "may" becomes very strong in the negative: "may not" is a stronger injunction than "shall not", just short of "must not".
A great deal of effort has been expended to make these Laws easy to use. References from one law to another have been made more explicit. The hundreds of headings and sub-headings can help a Director find the section of a law that is applicable to the facts of a case (these headings are for convenience of reference only; headings are not considered to be part of the Laws). The Table of Contents at the front of the book and the alphabetical index at the back should make a Director's task lighter.
The Drafting Committee notes with sorrow the passing of many previous contributors to the Laws whose imprint remains in the new Code - Jean Besse and Colin Harding of the WBF Laws Committee, and B. Jay Becker, Easley Blackwood and Alfred Sheinwold of the ACBL Laws Commission. We also acknowledge the efforts of Stewart Wheeler of the Portland Club for his help and advice.
The Drafting Committee acknowledges with gratitude the work of Rena Hetzer, who acted as secretary and liaison in the preparation of this revision.
THE LAWS COMMISSION | |
| EDGAR KAPLAN, Co-Chairman | |
|---|---|
| RALPH COHEN, Co-Chairman | |
| Karen Allison | Jeffrey Polisner |
| Richard Goldberg | Eric Rodwell |
| Amalya Kearse | George Rosenkranz |
| Sami Kehela | Roger Stern |
| Chip Martel | Peggy Sutherlin |
| David McGee | Katie Thorpe |
| Robert Wolff | |
DRAFTING COMMITTEE | |
| EDGAR KAPLAN, Chairman | |
| Karen Allison | Grattan Endicott |
| Ralph Cohen | Chip Martel |
| Roger Stern | |
THE LAWS COMMISSION OF | |
| EDGAR KAPLAN, Chairman (USA) | |
| Ralph Cohen, Vice Chairman (USA) | |
| Ton Kooijman, Vice Chairman (NETHERLANDS) | |
| Jens Auken (DENMARK) | Robert A. Howes (USA) |
| Max Bavin (GREAT BRITAIN) | Jaime Ortiz-Patiño (SWITZERLAND) |
| Carlos Cabanne (ARGENTINA) | Jeffrey Polisner (USA) |
| Claude Dadoun (FRANCE) | Rebecca Rogers (USA) |
| José Damiani (FRANCE) | Willian Schoder (USA) |
| David Davenport (PORTLAND CLUB) | John Wignall (NEW ZEALAND) |
| Grattan Endicott (GREAT BRITAIN) | James Zimmerman (USA) |
| Santanu Ghose (INDIA) | |
Promulgating Bodies
THE LAWS COMMISSION
of the American Contract Bridge League
EDGAR KAPLAN, Co-Chairman
RALPH COHEN, Co-Chairman
Karen Allison Jeffrey Polisner
Richard Goldberg Eric Rodwell
Amalya Kearse George Rosenkranz
Sami Kehela Roger Stern
Chip Martel Peggy Sutherlin
David McGee Katie Thorpe
Robert Wolff
DRAFTING COMMITTEE
EDGAR KAPLAN, Chairman
Karen Allison Grattan Endicott
Ralph Cohen Chip Martel
Roger Stern
THE LAWS COMMISSION OF
THE WORLD BRIDGE FEDERATION
EDGAR KAPLAN, Chairman (USA)
Ralph Cohen, Vice Chairman (USA)
Ton Kooijman, Vice Chairman (NETHERLANDS)
Jens Auken (DENMARK) Robert A. Howes (USA)
Max Bavin (GREAT BRITAIN) Jaime Ortiz-Patiño (SWITZERLAND)
Carlos Cabanne (ARGENTINA) Jeffrey Polisner (USA)
Claude Dadoun (FRANCE) Rebecca Rogers (USA)
José Damiani (FRANCE) Willian Schoder (USA)
David Davenport (PORTLAND CLUB) John Wignall (NEW ZEALAND)
Grattan Endicott (GREAT BRITAIN) James Zimmerman (USA)
Santanu Ghose (INDIA)
