Laws of Duplicate Bridge

The Laws of Duplicate Bridge (also known as the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge and the Laws of Contract Bridge) is the official rule book of duplicate bridge promulgated by the World Bridge Federation (WBF). The first Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge were published in 1928. They were revised in 1933, 1935, 1943, 1949, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1997, 2007 and 2017. The Laws are effective worldwide for all duplicate bridge tournaments sponsored by WBF, zonal, national and subordinate organizations (which includes most bridge clubs).

The laws were greatly influenced by Harold S. Vanderbilt in 1925 when inter alia he introduced the current concept of scoring, the use of boards to hold the cards, and the Tournament Director. The main responsibilities of the tournament director are to adjudicate on disputes and irregularities that occur during the tournament and to control the movement.

Through the 1930s, the Laws were promulgated by the Portland Club of London and the Whist Club of New York. From the 1940s onwards, their roles were supplemented by British Bridge League and European Bridge League on European side, and American Contract Bridge League Laws Commission from the American side. From the 1975 onwards, Laws were also promulgated by the World Bridge Federation Laws Commission, which claims the sole responsibility both for their content and their interpretation. The latest edition is dated 2017.

The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) Laws Commission claims the same rights for North America, and modified the 2007 version to establish its own version, dated 2008.

There are 93 articles (Laws), covering all aspects of duplicate bridge.

Due to growing popularity of online bridge, a version more suited for Electronic Bridge was issued by WBF in 2001.

Apart from definitions of basic rules and procedures, a large part of the Laws deals with handling of irregularities that may occur at the table. As such, the Laws are primarily used as a reference book for tournament directors rather than by ordinary players (although they are expected to get acquainted with basic procedures and principles). After attention is drawn to an irregularity (which may be done by any player except by the dummy during play) the tournament director should be summoned immediately by any player and the director may impose one or more of the following rectifications in order to restore equity to a side that has been damaged by the irregularity:

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