That sanction is what I would call creative rule lawyering. The term "role play" is quite vague and seems to open to interpretation. To sanction someone for something that's not explicitly forbidden is taking this too far. It seems we're going down a path where, "if we can't find a rule to sanction him ... lets get the catch all rule where we can declare him OORP." That's bunk! How about all those lawful traders (with Trader ID) who dock on on unlawful basees or even Yanagi to avoid being pirated? When will we see an OORP sanction for this? Probably won't.
Lets take a look at reality for a second. Docking rings on planets ... that's a game mechanics issue. In reality, you do NOT need some mechanical docking ring to enter a planet's atmosphere. In reality (and in role play) a pilot can enter a planet's orbit, enter the atmosphere and land on a planet ... and there's absolutely no way that lawfuls can cover every inch of the atmosphere to prevent them from entering the atmosphere. All they could do is detect and track that guy and catch him if he shows up at one of the numerous cities on the surface. But this "game" is not that robust. In this "game" we are limited to a docking ring and a single port to land.
Yes ... a faction can control a "base" such as Fort Bush. But there's no way you can control someone from entering a planet's atmosphere.
This "generic catch-all" rule has the potential for abuse when there's no explicit rule being broken. A Liberty Rogue docking on Manhattan is obviously OORP ... but a Trader or Smuggler? Come on ... you're really stretching the rule here.
EDIT: Lets please not use rules to take the place of role play. If a lawful cannot catch someone before they dock ... its the lawful's problem. Same as when a trader docks to avoid being pirated. If we accept this "vague" rule as being so strict ... we're in trouble ... might as well delete anything that's contraband from the game. I can see the scenario where my smuggler is spotted with Cardamine in Texas ... ordered to stop ... but I'm so far ahead of him that he can't catch me ... I enter New York and dock on Rochester instead of Manhattan to avoid attention ... next thing I know I'm sanctioned because I used the jump gate between Texas and New York. Its coming people ... just wait and see. Here's your loophole for sanctioning a smuggler ... forget even trying to catch the guy ... all you gotta do is utter the word "halt" ... if the smuggler does not comply ... boom ... sanction report.
