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Fairness & Eligibility Policy

The Cosplay Photography Awards is committed to providing a fair, impartial, and legally compliant platform for artists worldwide. As an organization operating within Germany and the European Union, our policies are governed strictly by EU regulations, German civil law, and international data protection standards.

This policy explains how we keep judging fair, inclusive, and legally compliant: how blind judging works, how German anti-discrimination law shapes our evaluation, and how we protect your privacy under the GDPR. Country eligibility is set out in our Terms & Conditions. For the standards of behavior we expect within our community, see our Code of Conduct.

100% Blind Judging Framework

To ensure absolute fairness, our competition operates on a strict blind judging system.

  • Art is evaluated entirely on technical and creative merit.
  • Judges do not have access to an applicant's name, nationality, or location during the evaluation process.

For a detailed breakdown of how entries are scored and winners are selected, see our Judging Criteria.

Anti-Discrimination Law (AGG)

Under the German General Equal Treatment Act (AGG), public competitions are classified as mass transactions.

  • No Nationality Bans: Excluding individuals based strictly on their passport or citizenship constitutes unlawful indirect discrimination based on ethnic origin. Private house rules (Hausrecht) do not override these federal anti-discrimination laws.
  • Equal Access: Because the service provided is the blind evaluation of art, personal identity cannot legally be used as criteria for exclusion. Violations of this principle carry severe legal and financial penalties for the organization.

Data Privacy (GDPR)

We respect the privacy of our applicants and operate strictly within European data protection guidelines.

  • Minimal Data Collection: We collect only the data necessary for the execution of the competition.
  • No Profiling: It is a violation of European data laws to mine a participant's social media or personal background to extract personal data, such as location or citizenship, without explicit consent. We evaluate the art, not the artist's private background, and we never profile entrants to determine eligibility.
  • Reports, Not Surveillance: Our privacy commitment is not a shield for misconduct. We maintain a strict zero-tolerance policy against harassment, discrimination, and the promotion of military aggression, war crimes, or terrorism, as set out in our Code of Conduct. Consistent with GDPR data minimization, we do not proactively monitor anyone's private life or social media. Instead, we investigate specific, documented reports of prohibited conduct and act only on verified findings. This enforcement is a narrow, lawful process, kept entirely separate from the blind evaluation of art. It never influences how a photograph is judged. We evaluate the art, not the artist. We collect only the data necessary to run the competition, and we never profile entrants or mine their social media or personal background. Identity data is kept entirely separate from the blind evaluation of art and never influences how a photograph is judged. Full details of what we collect and why are set out in our Privacy Policy.

Logistical Constraints & Regulatory Restrictions

We firmly believe that a competition is only fair if every winner can successfully receive their award. However, operating a global platform requires navigating diverse local laws and complex international shipping networks.

Residents of certain regions may be excluded from participation due to insurmountable operational barriers, including:

  • Logistical Constraints: Prohibitive shipping costs, unreliable postal infrastructure, or regional instability that prevents the secure delivery of physical awards by our sponsors.
  • Regulatory Restrictions: Complex local laws governing international competitions, strict sweepstakes regulations, or prohibitive customs requirements that make legal fulfillment unfeasible.

Because we cannot guarantee the secure, affordable, and legally compliant delivery of prizes to these locations, we must restrict eligibility in these areas to maintain an equitable standard for all participants.

Country eligibility is set out in our Terms & Conditions.

EU Sanctions and Financial Restrictions

We strictly adhere to EU Regulations 269/2014, 833/2014, 765/2006, 2017/1509, 36/2012, 267/2012 and 401/2013 regarding international sanctions.

  • Financial Compliance: We are legally prohibited from transferring fiat currency, physical assets, or physical trophies to sanctioned territories or explicitly listed individuals.
  • Participation Eligibility: Residents of comprehensively sanctioned territories are not eligible to participate or to receive prizes, because EU trade sanctions, suspended postal services, and banking restrictions make lawful participation and prize fulfillment impossible there. This restriction is based strictly on legal compliance and logistical feasibility, not on nationality, ethnic origin, or citizenship.
  • Residence, Not Citizenship: We never exclude anyone on the basis of nationality or citizenship; eligibility turns solely on residence, as set out above.