Sportslaw Jargon: Court of Arbitration for Sports

Sportslaw Jargon: The Court of Arbitration for Sport

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ("CAS") is an independent institution that was created in 1983 to settle sports-related disputes. The CAS is under the administrative and financial authority of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport ("ICAS") and is divided into two divisions, the Ordinary Arbitration Division ("OAD") and the Appeals Arbitration Division ("AAD"). The OAD resolves disputes arising from all types of legal relations between parties, such as contracts for television rights or a simple sponsorship. The AAD resolves disputes arising from "last instance decisions" taken by the tribunals of sports organizations, federations or associations when the regulations or statutes of these bodies (or a private agreement) requires the CAS to have jurisdiction. Both the OAD and the AAD have a Panel that hears the dispute. A Panel is comprised of either one or more arbitrators. The CAS has 150 arbitrators from 37 countries.

The CAS has its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, but has two other courts in Sydney, Australia and Denver, Colorado. The CAS also has the authority to set up courts in other countries, which it does during the Olympics. The language for the CAS is either French or English. If the parties cannot decide which language the CAS should apply, the President of the Panel makes the decision. There are rare times when another language is used, but must be agreed upon by the parties and the Panel.

The CAS is a private procedure and therefore, takes place without the public or media knowing about it. In fact, the parties, arbitrators and CAS staff are obligated not to disclose any information connected with the dispute. However, the CAS may publish the award, unless the parties agree otherwise.

The CAS is popular for international disputes because it eliminates many of the problems that often arise in these cases. The CAS provides the jurisdiction, the parties choose the applicable law, the procedure is governed by the "International Code of Sports related Arbitration" and the language is either French or English. The procedures are preferred by the parties because they are flexible and not overly formal. These qualities allow for the arbitration to accommodate the needs or desires of the parties involved.

Finally, the CAS is able to provide arbitration decisions in a time frame that is appropriate for the circumstances to the particular dispute. For example, during the Olympics, awards are required to be made within 24 hours. The appeals procedures for the CAS are also relatively quick. The procedural rules mandate that a decision must be rendered within four months from the filing of the statement of appeal.