The Referee Commission’s powers and duties shall be as follows:

1. To ensure the correct preparation for each given tournament in consultation with the Organising Commission, with regard to competition area arrangement, the provision and deployment of all equipment and necessary facilities, bout/match operation and supervision, safety precautions, etc.
2. To appoint and deploy the Tatami Managers (Chief Referees) and Tatami Manager Assistants to their respective areas and to act upon and take such action as may be required by the reports of the Tatami Managers.
3. To supervise and co-ordinate the overall performance of the Refereeing officials.
4. To nominate substitute officials where such are required.
5. To pass the final Judgement on matters of a technical nature which may arise during a given bout or match and for which there are no stipulations in the rules.

The Tatami Managers powers and duties shall be as follows: 
1. To delegate, appoint, and supervise the Referees and Judges, for all bouts and matches in areas under their control.
2. To oversee the performance of the Referees and Judges in their areas, and to ensure that the Officials appointed are capable of the tasks allotted them.
3. To order the Referee to halt the bout when the Match Supervisor signals a contravention of the Rules of Competition.
4. To prepare a daily, written report, on the performance of each official under their supervision, together with their recommendations, if any, to the Referee Commission.
5. To appoint 2 Referees with WKF Referee A Qualification to act as Video Review Supervisors (VRS).

The duties of the Coach Supervisors are described in APPENDIX 11 – VIDEO REVIEW.

The Referee's powers shall be as follows:
1. The Referee (“SHUSHIN”) shall have the power to conduct bouts/matches including announcing the start, the suspension, and the end of the bout or match.
2. To award points based on the decision of the Judges.
3. To stop the bout when an injury, illness or inability of a Competitor to continue is noticed.
4. To stop the bout when it in the Referee’s opinion has been a foul committed, or to ensure the safety of the Competitors.
5. To stop the bout when two or more Judges have indicated a score or Jogai.
6. To indicate fouls observed (including Jogai), thus requesting the consent of the Judges.
7. To request confirmation of the Judges’ verdict in instances where there may, in the Referee’s opinion, be grounds for the Judges to re-evaluate their call for warning or penalty.
8. To call the Judges for conference (SHUGO) to recommend Shikkaku.
9. To explain to the Tatami Manager, Referee Commission, or Appeals Jury, if necessary, the basis for giving a Judgement.
10. To issue warnings and impose penalties based on the decision of the Judges.
11. To announce and start an extra bout when required in team matches.
12. To conduct voting of the Judges, including his own vote (HANTEI) and announce the result.
13. To resolve ties.
14. To announce the winner.
15. The authority of the Referee is not confined solely to the competition area but also to its entire immediate perimeter including controlling the conduct of Coaches, other Competitors, or any part of the Competitors’ entourage, present on the competition floor.
16. The Referee shall give all commands and make all announcements.

The Judges (FUKUSHIN) powers shall be as follows:
1. To signal points scored and Jogai on their own initiative.
2. To signal their Judgement on warnings or penalties indicated by the Referee.
3. To exercise their right to vote on any decision to be taken.

The Judges shall carefully observe the actions of the Competitors and signal to the Referee an opinion in the following cases:
a) When a score is observed.
b) When a Competitor has stepped out of the competition area (Jogai)
c) When requested by the Referee to pass Judgement on any other foul.

The Match Supervisor (KANSA) will assist the Tatami Manager by overseeing the match or bout in progress. Should decisions of the Referee and/or Judges, not be in accordance with the Rules of Competition, the Match Supervisor will immediately raise the red flag and blow his/her whistle. The Tatami Manager will instruct the Referee to halt the match or bout and correct the irregularity.

Records kept of the match shall become official records subject to the approval of the Match Supervisor.

Before the start of each match or bout the Match Supervisor will ensure that Competitors’ equipment and Karategi are in accordance with the WKF rules of competition. Even if the organiser has a check-up of equipment before line-up, it is still Kansa´s responsibility to ensure that the equipment is in accordance with the rules. The Match Supervisor will not rotate during Team matches.

In the following situations Kansa will raise the red flag and blow his/her whistle:

• The Referee forgets to indicate Senshu.
• The Referee forgets to remove the Senshu.
• The Referee gives a score to the wrong Competitor.
• The Referee gives warning/penalty to the wrong Competitor.
• The Referee gives a score to a Competitor and exaggeration Cat. 2 to the other.
• The Referee gives a score to a Competitor and Mubobi to the other.
• The Referee gives a score for a technique done after Yame or after the time is up.
• The Referee gives a score made by a Competitor when he/she is outside the Tatami.
• The Referee gives a warning or penalty for passivity during Ato Shibaraku.
• The Referee gives the wrong warning or penalty Cat.2 during Ato Shibaraku.
• The Referee doesn’t stop the bout and there are two or more flags showing point or Jogai for the same Competitor.
• The Referee doesn’t stop the bout when a Video Review is requested by a Coach.
• The Referee doesn’t follow the majority of flags.
• The Referee doesn’t call the doctor in a 10 seconds rule situation.
• The Referee does Hantei/Hikiwake but Senshu has been obtained.
• A Judge(s) is holding the flags in the wrong hand.
• The score board is not showing the right information.
• The technique requested by the Coach was done after Yame or after the time was up.

In the following situations Kansa will not get involved with the Referee Panel’s decision:

• The Judges don’t flag for a score.
• The Judges don’t flag for Jogai.
• The Judges don’t support the Referee when asking for a Cat.1 or Cat.2 warning or penalty.
• The degree of contact Cat. 1 that the panel decide.
• The degree of warning or penalty Cat. 2 that the panel decide.
• Kansa has no vote or authority in matters of judgments such as whether a score was valid or not.
• In the event that the Referee does not hear the time-up bell, the Score-Supervisor will blow his whistle, not Kansa.

The Score Supervisor will keep a separate record of the scores awarded by the Referee and at the same time oversee the actions of the appointed timekeeper and scorekeeper.

I. When two or more Judges indicate a score or Jogai for the same Competitor, the Referee will stop the bout and render the decision accordingly. Should the Referee fail to stop the bout the Match Supervisor will raise the red flag and blow his/her whistle. When the Referee decides to halt the bout for any other reason than a signal given by two, or more, of the Judges he/she will call “YAME” at the same time using the required hand signal. The Judges will then signal their opinions and the Referee will render the decisions for which there is agreement between two or more Judges.

II. In the event that both Competitors have a score, warning or penalty indicated by two or more Judges, both Competitors will be awarded their respective points, warnings or penalties.

III. If one Competitor has a score, warning or penalty indicated by more than one Judge and the score or penalty is different between the Judges, the lower score, warning or penalty, will be applied if there is not a majority for one level of score, warning or penalty.

IV. If there is majority, but dissent, among the Judges for one level of score, warning or penalty, the majority opinion will overrule the principle of applying the lowest score, warning or penalty.

V. At HANTEI the four Judges and the Referee each have one vote.

VI. The role of the Match Supervisor is to ensure that the match or bout is conducted in accordance with the Rules of Competition. he/she is not there as an additional Judge. he/she has no vote, nor has he/she any authority in matters of Judgement, such as whether a score was valid or if JOGAI occurred. His/her sole responsibility is in matters of procedure. The Match Supervisor will not rotate during Team matches.

VII. In the event that the Referee does not hear the time-up bell, the Score-Supervisor will blow his/her whistle.

VIII. When explaining the basis for a Judgement after the bout or match, the Judges may speak to the Tatami Manager, the Referee Commission, or the Appeals Jury. They will explain themselves to no one else.

IX. A Referee may, based solely on his/her own Judgement, ban from the competition floor any Coach failing to conform to proper conduct, or that in the opinion of the Referee interferes with the orderly conduct of the bout, and postpone the continuation of a bout until the Coach complies. The same authority of the Referee extends to other members of the Competitor’s entourage present on the competition floor.