by Felix Majani University of Tillburg, Spring Semester 2012

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LEGAL BACKGROUNDIndependent institution, IOC, Lausanne,

1984. Need to offer a quick and inexpensive

procedure to settle sport related disputes.Highest arbitral court in the world of sports.

Awards are final and binding.Only appeal to Swiss Federal Tribunal

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THE CODE OF SPORT-RELATED ARBITRATION

Established in 1994 and revised in 2003,2010 and January 2012

It governs the organisation and arbitration procedures of the CAS.

It also contains a set of mediation rules and ad hoc rules.

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STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS

Provides services for settlement of disputes:Arbitration (i) ordinary proceedings (ii) appeal

proceedingsMediation

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NATURE OF DISPUTESContractual relations (transfers, unpaid players

or agents, breach of contract by clubs or players)

DopingCommercial disputes (TV/Marketing

agreements, breach of club licensing requirements)

Criminal - match fixingTraining compensation, solidarity mechanism

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TYPES OF PROCEEDINGS

Ordinary proceedings. Cases heard at 1st instance

Appeal proceedings. Involve appeals against decisions passed at federative or association level.

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LENGTH OF PROCEEDINGS

Ordinary procedure – between 6 and 12 months

Appeals procedure – within 3 months

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CAS JURISDCTIONWRITTEN AGREEMENT BETWEEN PARTIESSuch agreement could:

a) Appear in a contractb) Appear in the statutes or regulations of a sports organization.

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LAW APPLIEDIn Appeal proceduresStatutes or regulations of the federation,

association or sports related body which issued the appealed decision. e.g article 62.2 FIFA Statute – the CAS shall primarily apply the various regulations of FIFA and, additionally, Swiss law

In Ordinary proceduresParties can agree on law applicable. In case there

is no agreement, Swiss law applies. The parties may also authorise the panel to decide ex aequo et bono.

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THE ARBITRATORS

List of arbitrators maintained by the ICAS. Anyone eligible provided that he or she has full

legal training, demonstrates good competence in relation to sports law and/or international arbitration, has good knowledge of sports in general and a good command of at least one of the CAS working languages (English, French and Spanish).

Nationalities – 300 arbitrators from more than 87 countries

Conflict of interest – not litigate and at the same time arbitrate.

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LANGUAGES

Official – English, French and Spanish. Parties can also agree on a different language, provided the arbitrators have knowledge of that language.

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Thank youfelix.majani@cralaw.com

CRA – Coelho Ribeiro e Associados

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