DeBellin to appeal

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Maybe, but big picture, it is good news for the NRL as they will get certainty over what they can and can’t do. If the court rules against their policy, they will be able to say that they tried to be tough but their hands are tied. If they win, they will be saying how awesome they are (puke!).

Yes a point I guess.

But it’s going to be interesting , nevertheless!!
 
You go out as a well known public face and leave your GF (pregnant) at home and go play the smash and grab....adds up to trouble.
I realise the case will be about being consensual and that's the defences direction.....but there's other moral values involved.
Certainly no angel as a younger bloke, so not out to throw stones.....especially after consuming copious amounts of alcohol and who knows what else.
Thing is, these blokes are in the spotlight and from what I know, have a heap of club regulations to uphold and though I personally rate De Bellin a great young forward.....just such a dumb thing on the back of several incidents that have the media and public sniffing around player for this type of opportunity.....hard to comprehend these players leave the book so wide open for the world to look in...
 
DeBelin will be allowed to play . Everyone is innocent until conviction. Regardless of rules the NRL just made up - it’s a restriction of trade for starters and unlawful ban .
Just an opinion.

I agree with this , the presumption of innocence is pivotal to Australian law.

He may well be guilty as hell ( and is no doubt morally guilty leaving his pregnant GF at home whilst playing up) but until he faces court he’s still innocent.
 
St George Illawarra Dragons star Jack de Belin is suing the NRL for misleading and deceptive conduct and challenging its power to suspend him as he faces a criminal trial for aggravated sexual assault.

In documents filed in the Federal Court, Mr de Belin claims the NRL and the Australian Rugby League Commission – the sport's governing body – did not have the power to suspend him on February 28 and it was "misleading or deceptive" to claim they had done so.



He also claims the NRL and ARLC have engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct by making public comments suggesting they had "formed a view that [he] was guilty" of sexual assault and had "engaged in conduct that warranted his immediate suspension" from the club.

His lawyers say those claims, which have been "repeated in the national media and continue to be repeated and disseminated throughout Australia", have caused "irreparable damage" to Mr de Belin's reputation and financial loss.

Mr De Belin, 27, and Shellharbour Sharks player Callan Sinclair, 21, were charged in December with aggravated sexual assault after they were allegedly involved in an incident with a 19-year-old woman in Wollongong during a night out on December 9.

The men have pleaded not guilty to the charges and will next appear in court on April 17.

Mr de Belin is asking the Federal Court to order the NRL and the ARLC to issue a press release and place corrective advertising in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and a raft of other mastheads stating that: “The NRL has not suspended St George Illawarra player Jack de Belin. He is available to play for St George Illawarra.”

He also wants the court to award him damages and costs and make a range of declarations, including that he was not "validly suspended or stood down" from the sport and that the NRL and the ARLC engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct and unconscionable conduct.

Mr de Belin's lawyers claim a major change to the game's disciplinary policy, announced on February 28 and requiring the automatic suspension of players accused of serious crimes, amounts to an unreasonable restraint of trade and is a "threatened suspension" rather than a suspension that has taken effect.

He is seeking an order permanently restraining the NRL and ARLC from inserting the new rule into the NRL Rules or NRL Code of Conduct.

Under the ARLC's old policy, players who pleaded not guilty to alleged offences were allowed to continue playing while the matters were dealt with in court.

Under the new policy, affecting the upcoming NRL competition, any player who is charged with an offence that carries a maximum prison term of 11 years or more will be automatically stood down.

NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg also has discretionary powers to stand down players charged with offences involving the assault of women or children. Players will be allowed to continue to train with their teams and remain on full pay.

Mr de Belin's lawyers say neither the NRL nor the ARLC had in their possession "any evidence capable of enabling them to properly form a view as to whether de Belin engaged in the alleged offence or conduct that constituted a breach of the NRL Code of Conduct".

An NRL spokesman said on Wednesday: "We have this afternoon received legal documents relating to Jack de Belin. We are currently reviewing those documents."

The parties will appear before Justice Steven Rares for a preliminary hearing on Thursday.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/jack-d...him-over-criminal-charge-20190306-p5128k.html
 
St George Illawarra Dragons star Jack de Belin is suing the NRL for misleading and deceptive conduct and challenging its power to suspend him as he faces a criminal trial for aggravated sexual assault.

In documents filed in the Federal Court, Mr de Belin claims the NRL and the Australian Rugby League Commission – the sport's governing body – did not have the power to suspend him on February 28 and it was "misleading or deceptive" to claim they had done so.



He also claims the NRL and ARLC have engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct by making public comments suggesting they had "formed a view that [he] was guilty" of sexual assault and had "engaged in conduct that warranted his immediate suspension" from the club.

His lawyers say those claims, which have been "repeated in the national media and continue to be repeated and disseminated throughout Australia", have caused "irreparable damage" to Mr de Belin's reputation and financial loss.

Mr De Belin, 27, and Shellharbour Sharks player Callan Sinclair, 21, were charged in December with aggravated sexual assault after they were allegedly involved in an incident with a 19-year-old woman in Wollongong during a night out on December 9.

The men have pleaded not guilty to the charges and will next appear in court on April 17.

Mr de Belin is asking the Federal Court to order the NRL and the ARLC to issue a press release and place corrective advertising in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and a raft of other mastheads stating that: “The NRL has not suspended St George Illawarra player Jack de Belin. He is available to play for St George Illawarra.”

He also wants the court to award him damages and costs and make a range of declarations, including that he was not "validly suspended or stood down" from the sport and that the NRL and the ARLC engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct and unconscionable conduct.

Mr de Belin's lawyers claim a major change to the game's disciplinary policy, announced on February 28 and requiring the automatic suspension of players accused of serious crimes, amounts to an unreasonable restraint of trade and is a "threatened suspension" rather than a suspension that has taken effect.

He is seeking an order permanently restraining the NRL and ARLC from inserting the new rule into the NRL Rules or NRL Code of Conduct.

Under the ARLC's old policy, players who pleaded not guilty to alleged offences were allowed to continue playing while the matters were dealt with in court.

Under the new policy, affecting the upcoming NRL competition, any player who is charged with an offence that carries a maximum prison term of 11 years or more will be automatically stood down.

NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg also has discretionary powers to stand down players charged with offences involving the assault of women or children. Players will be allowed to continue to train with their teams and remain on full pay.

Mr de Belin's lawyers say neither the NRL nor the ARLC had in their possession "any evidence capable of enabling them to properly form a view as to whether de Belin engaged in the alleged offence or conduct that constituted a breach of the NRL Code of Conduct".

An NRL spokesman said on Wednesday: "We have this afternoon received legal documents relating to Jack de Belin. We are currently reviewing those documents."

The parties will appear before Justice Steven Rares for a preliminary hearing on Thursday.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/jack-d...him-over-criminal-charge-20190306-p5128k.html

All I can say is WOW.

Ballsy move by the player himself as he’s paying the bills.
 
Like it or not but the NRL can set their own rules in their competition. Don't like it go elsewhere to play.

Not necessarily... Otherwise we would have an NRL draft system (which was successfully challenged in a court of law).
 
For me, this is the crux of the debate: Mr de Belin's lawyers say neither the NRL nor the ARLC had in their possession "any evidence capable of enabling them to properly form a view as to whether de Belin engaged in the alleged offence or conduct that constituted a breach of the NRL Code of Conduct".

If the NRL can prove that it is a Law Unto Itself then de Belin will lose. But surely this would have to be a condition of his employment, and written into his contract with Illawarra and the NRL. If de Belin wins then the NRL will have to re-write all of the contracts for players new to the NRL. I can't see how a court would allow such a draconian rule be be introduced retrospectively, thus existing NRL players would be bound by the conditions of their current contract.
That's just my opinion.
 
St George Illawarra Dragons star Jack de Belin is suing the NRL for misleading and deceptive conduct and challenging its power to suspend him as he faces a criminal trial for aggravated sexual assault.

In documents filed in the Federal Court, Mr de Belin claims the NRL and the Australian Rugby League Commission – the sport's governing body – did not have the power to suspend him on February 28 and it was "misleading or deceptive" to claim they had done so.



He also claims the NRL and ARLC have engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct by making public comments suggesting they had "formed a view that [he] was guilty" of sexual assault and had "engaged in conduct that warranted his immediate suspension" from the club.

His lawyers say those claims, which have been "repeated in the national media and continue to be repeated and disseminated throughout Australia", have caused "irreparable damage" to Mr de Belin's reputation and financial loss.

Mr De Belin, 27, and Shellharbour Sharks player Callan Sinclair, 21, were charged in December with aggravated sexual assault after they were allegedly involved in an incident with a 19-year-old woman in Wollongong during a night out on December 9.

The men have pleaded not guilty to the charges and will next appear in court on April 17.

Mr de Belin is asking the Federal Court to order the NRL and the ARLC to issue a press release and place corrective advertising in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and a raft of other mastheads stating that: “The NRL has not suspended St George Illawarra player Jack de Belin. He is available to play for St George Illawarra.”

He also wants the court to award him damages and costs and make a range of declarations, including that he was not "validly suspended or stood down" from the sport and that the NRL and the ARLC engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct and unconscionable conduct.

Mr de Belin's lawyers claim a major change to the game's disciplinary policy, announced on February 28 and requiring the automatic suspension of players accused of serious crimes, amounts to an unreasonable restraint of trade and is a "threatened suspension" rather than a suspension that has taken effect.

He is seeking an order permanently restraining the NRL and ARLC from inserting the new rule into the NRL Rules or NRL Code of Conduct.

Under the ARLC's old policy, players who pleaded not guilty to alleged offences were allowed to continue playing while the matters were dealt with in court.

Under the new policy, affecting the upcoming NRL competition, any player who is charged with an offence that carries a maximum prison term of 11 years or more will be automatically stood down.

NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg also has discretionary powers to stand down players charged with offences involving the assault of women or children. Players will be allowed to continue to train with their teams and remain on full pay.

Mr de Belin's lawyers say neither the NRL nor the ARLC had in their possession "any evidence capable of enabling them to properly form a view as to whether de Belin engaged in the alleged offence or conduct that constituted a breach of the NRL Code of Conduct".

An NRL spokesman said on Wednesday: "We have this afternoon received legal documents relating to Jack de Belin. We are currently reviewing those documents."

The parties will appear before Justice Steven Rares for a preliminary hearing on Thursday.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/jack-d...him-over-criminal-charge-20190306-p5128k.html
While it generally is innocent until proven guilty he is also an idol to many young Men and Women and kids and this charge is a serious one despite what people believe.

And without evidence there would have been no charges made. While at the moment it’s he said she said, suing because you believe you’ve been unfairly treated in way of being stood down is ridiculous.

Very ballsy move though and may leave the door open for many others
 
Pointed this out on another section

'The presumption of innocence is a fundamental principle of the common law.

The UN Human Rights Committee has stated that the presumption of innocence imposes on the prosecution the burden of proving the charge and guarantees that no guilt can be presumed until the charge has been proved beyond reasonable doubt.

The Committee has also stated that public authorities should refrain from prejudging the outcome of a trial by making public statements affirming the guilt of the accused, and that the media should avoid news coverage undermining the presumption of innocence.'

Section 14 (c) regarding rights on civil and political grounds of an accused person.
 

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