A PROJECT REPORT ON

SPORTS DISPUTE RESOLUTION SYSTEM: A NEW GAME IN

INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION

SUBMITTED TO:

(Ms. APOORVI SHRIVASTAVA)

(ASSISTANT LECTURER)

(FACULTY OF INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION)

SUBMITTED BY:

JOY SARKER
ROLL NO.-17

PG082014167
LL.M- III TRIMESTER (2014-15)

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 18.05.2015

HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

RAIPUR, CHATTISGARH
 DECLARATION

I, Joy Sarker, student of Hidayatullah National Law University, hereby declare that the
project work entitled “Sports Dispute Resolution System: A new game in International
Arbitration” submitted to the Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur is a record
of an original work done by me under the guidance of Ms. Apoorvi Shrivastava, teacher in
subject, Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur.

Date: Name: JOY SARKER

Roll No. 17; PG082014167

LL.M Trimester-III (2014-15)

i
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project report entitled “Sports Dispute Resolution System: A new
game in International Arbitration” submitted by Joy Sarker in partial fulfilment of the
requirement for the award of degree of LL.M. to Hidayatullah National Law University,
Raipur is a record of the candidate’s own work carried out by him under my supervision. The
matter embodied in this project is original and has not been submitted for the award of any
other degree.

_____________________
DATE:
(Ms. Apoorvi Shrivastava)
Teacher in subject

ii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would specially like to thank my guide, mentor, Ms. Apoorvi Shrivastava without whose
constant support and guidance this project would have been a distant reality.

This work is an outcome of an unparalleled infrastructural support that I have received from
Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur.
I owe my deepest gratitude to the library staff of the college.

It would never have been possible to complete this study without an untiring support from my
family, specially my parents.

This study bears testimony to the active encouragement and guidance of a host of friends and
well-wishers.

Name: Joy Sarker

Roll no -17; PG082014167

LL.M Trimester-III (2014-15)

iii
 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

AAA American Arbitration Association

ADR Alternate Dispute Resolution

CAS Court of Arbitration for Sports
F.3d Federal Reporter, Third Series
FEI International Equestrian Federation
IAAF International Amateur Athletic Federation

ICA International Commercial Arbitration

ICAS International Council of Arbitration for Sports

IOC International Olympic Committee

SDR Sport Dispute Resolution

SFST Swiss Federal Supreme Tribunal

TAS Tribunal Arbitral du Sport

iv
 TABLE OF CASES

SL. NO. CASE TITLE PAGE. NO

1 Gundel v. FEI CAS 92/A/63 14

2 Harding v. U.S. Figure Skating Association 851 F. 17

Supp 1476 (D.Ore. 1994)
3 Reynolds v. International Amateur Athletic Federation 15
(IAAF) 23 F.3d 1110 (6th Cir. 1994)

v
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

TOPIC PAGE. NO

 DECLARATION i

 CERTIFICATE ii

 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iii

 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iv

 TABLE OF CASES v

 INTRODUCTION 1-5

CHAPTER - I SPORTS DISPUTE RESOLUTION SYSTEM 6-8

(SDR): IT’S GENESIS
CHAPTER - II MACHINERY OF SPORTS ARBITRATION: CAS 9-13
AND ICAS
CHAPTER - III SPORTS ARBITRATION: LANDMARK CASES 14-18

CHAPTER - IV SPORTS ARBITRATION IN INDIA: A 19-21

DEVELOPING EVENT
CHAPTER - V INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL 22-23
ARBITRATION AND SPORTS ARBITRATION:
AN ANALYSIS
CONCLUSION 24

BIBLIOGRAPHY 25
 INTRODUCTION

Sport is friendship,
Sport is health,
Sport is education,
Sport is life,
Sport brings the world together.
- Juan Antonio Samaranch
[1996 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony]
The principal goal of every human being since Stone Age is to learn and find ways of
surviving in this world. Simply put, through various professions by working hard day and
night we earn our bread and butter. One of such profession which existed since pre-historic
time some way or the other is the sports profession. E.g. the tale of Mahabharata speaks of
Arjun who excelled in the sports of archery. Now, in modern era, the sports play a pivotal
role in our life. Nowadays, apart from learning from the books it is imperative for a child to
develop as an all-rounder, by indulging into various extra-curricular activities one such pre-
dominant activity would be the sports. They are many who are taking it up as a profession
and excelling in that field.
The above-stated quote completely defines the positives of sports and how it impacts our life.
The word ‘sport’ affects us all. It can lift or depress the spirit of whole nations. It evokes
passion, dedication and excellence in individuals. Sports touches the lives of spectators,
athletes, officials and sport organizations at all levels. e.g. Recently released movie ‘invictus’
in the year 2009 starred by Morgan Freeman beautifully portrayed the scenario how the sport
of ‘rugby’ brought the entire nation of South Africa together as one after the election of the
President Nelson Mandela.
Now as we know, the positive sides of the terminology sports, the question which pops up in
our head, that what is problem? And why a research is needed in the field of sports? The
answer is sport has become a significant part of the global economy, and as a result, the
stakes for all parties involved have increased and disputes have become inevitable. There had
been situations where the career of a sports man is at the verge of extinction due to many
issues in like of inadvertent behaviour from the concerned sport federation, or there are
instances of doping which almost nullifies the career of an athlete. As it is one such activity
which unites nations together it is imperative to keep the sports dispute outside the court such
that few instances of dirt do not spoil the entire positive impact of sports. Hence the main

1
protagonists of the research work come into play i.e. sports arbitration. [A form sports dispute
resolution system.] The following research work will try and explore the problems for which
sports arbitration came into picture and what is the present status of such system.

 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM:
It is quite clear that the word sport unites us worldwide. But like every good thing some cons
are attached with, on a similar footing world of sports too has some problems. There are
allegations of doping against an athlete or situations like breach of contract between a
football club and a player etc. hence disputes of such sort requires speedy trial and
confidentiality thereby sports arbitration came into picture which is a developing branch of
Sports dispute resolution system. It provides for new ideas and mechanisms to cater to the
unique requirements of sports disputes. It aims to provide satisfactory resolution of disputes
in light of various superseding factors in sports law. The parties involved in most of the
disputes are international sports federations, the athletes, clubs etc. Although various sports
federation are under a responsibility to guide the game through but there are arbitrary
decisions taken by themselves against sports persons hence once again sports arbitration
comes into picture. It is true that due to such sport issues arbitration came into picture but it
too not free from problems.

Hence the researcher opines the principal problems of the research study are as follow:
 Sport disputes require expert panels to resolve issues quickly hence private mode of
settlement i.e. sports dispute resolution system has been preferred.
 Various international bodies in likes of sport federations’ sentences arbitrary decisions
hence a check on them is required too.
 Although arbitration is preferred in sports world but there has been cases which
showed that challenges have been made on the award given via sports arbitration
courts (CAS) which clearly shows reforms are required.
 In India too, the sports arbitration has been scarcely utilized.

RATIONALE:
The obvious reason of conducting such research study would be that world of sports affects
the global economy as well as it binds nations together hence few instances of dirt must be

2
kept confidential and such issues must resolved in private forum like arbitration while
keeping the option of courts involvement as the last resort.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

 To understand the meaning of sports arbitration and how it came up as a means of
settling dispute in sports arena.
 To analyse the functioning of court of arbitration of sports.
 To know the impact of sport arbitration in India.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
 What is sport arbitration or SDR?
 How the Court of Arbitration of Sports (CAS) operates?
 How far sports arbitration is used in India?

SCOPE OF RESEARCH STUDY:

The project report mainly focuses on the need of arbitration in sports world and how far such
disputes are solved by the mode of arbitration. Apart from that a chapter specifically deals
with CAS and its functioning and impact of sports arbitration in India. The researcher also
dealt with landmark cases in sport world related to arbitration.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE:
The literatures being reviewed by the researcher are as follows:
Books:
1. Patrick K. Thornton, Sports Law, Published by Jones and Bartlett publishers, 2011
The above-stated book helped the researcher in understanding the influence of sports
in society, further it gave a clear insight on CAS.
2. Jack Anderson (ed.), Leading cases in sports law, Published by Springer, 2013.
The above-stated book helped the researcher in going through various landmark cases
of sports arbitration.
Articles:
1. C.J. Burger, “Taking sports out of the courts: Alternate Dispute Resolution and
International Court of Arbitration for Sport” Published in 10(2) Journal of Legal
Aspects of Sport, Vol. 10 Issue 2, 2000

3
 2. Devyani Jain, “Judicial trend of intervention in sports arbitration and its future in
India”, 1(1) Published in Indian Journal of Arbitration of Law, Vol. 1 Issue 1, 2012
3. James A.R.Nafziger, “International sports law as a process for resolving disputes”
45(1), Published in International and Comparative Law Quarterly, Vol. 45 Issue 1,
1996
4. Jan Paulsson “Arbitration of International Sport Disputes” Published in Entertainment
and Sports Lawyer, Vol.11 Issue 4, 1994

HYPOTHESIS:
The researcher proposes that in order to solve the disputes of sports arena it requires expert
panels which not only know the technicalities of the sport arena as well as who keeps it
confidential and settles them quickly. Hence sports dispute resolution system is an imperative
mode of settlement of disputes, having said that it too needs reforms so that it can provide
justice to the concerned. Further the researcher opines that awareness in relation to sports
arbitration must be made worldwide as it is scarcely used in countries like India, and thereby
keeping the option of the court as a last resort.

METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION

While conducting doctrinal research, the researcher has gone to HNLU, library and relied on
secondary database. Secondary data have been collected through various propositions
advocated and professed by scholars and social theorists, commentaries of social thinkers and
eminent personalities, text books written by renowned scholars and social activists, case
reports and their analysis, various journals and magazines. Apart from that, the researcher
also reviewed various articles over the internet related to the research study.

CHAPTERISATION:
CHAPTER – I: SPORTS DISPUTE RESOLUTION SYSTEM (SDR): IT’S GENESIS.
CHAPTER – II: MACHINERY OF SPORTS ARBITRATION: CAS AND ICAS
CHAPTER – III: SPORTS ARBITRATION: LANDMARK CASES
CHAPTER – IV: SPORTS ARBITRATION IN INDIA: A DEVELOPING EVENT
CHAPTER - V: INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION AND SPORTS
ARBITRATION: AN ANALYSIS.

4
CONTRIBUTION OF THE STUDY:
The research work in hand gives a clear insight on the concept of sports arbitration and its
operation. Presently, on an international scale, sports arbitration is the only form of
international arbitration which is preached in reality and binding on all concerned federations,
clubs etc. The researcher further in his research work tried to analyse the mechanism of both
sports and commercial arbitration respectively.

LIMITATION OF THE STUDY:

The research study is limited within the ambit of sport arena mainly, but one chapter is
dedicated to mechanism of international commercial arbitration (ICA) by the researcher in
order to understand it and make suggestions how the mechanism of SDR system can be used
in ICA.

********

5
 CHAPTER – I
SPORTS DISPUTE RESOLUTION (SDR) SYSTEM: IT’S GENESIS
This chapter gives a brief overview of sports dispute resolution system and discusses the
history of court of arbitration of sports. Firstly, the question arise what is arbitration and then
how it can be used in sports world?
The word ‘arbitration’ means a procedure by which disputes between the parties are
peacefully settled. The decision given through arbitration is binding upon the parties. It is one
of the various methods of alternate dispute resolution which in a way gives the parties an
alternative way to settle their grievances without knocking the doors of the court. The
principal advantages of arbitration are:
 Private forum
 Confidentiality
 Quick remedy
 Expert panels.
When arbitration takes place on an international scale the term international is suffixed to the
word arbitration.
Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution system whereby two parties settle their
dispute peacefully without knocking the doors of the court through a neutral person i.e.
mediator. Such proceedings are fully confidential, informal in nature and suggestions are
given at the end of the day for settling disputes.
Conciliation is a form of alternative dispute resolution system whereby two parties settle
their dispute through a neutral person i.e. conciliator. The proceedings herein are formal in
nature, purely confidential and the decision given at the end of the day for settling disputes.
However such final decisions are not binding on the parties.
The above-stated three forms of ADR are also used to solve the disputes arising in the world
of sports. The very word ‘sports’ binds the nation through various international sporting
events; it provides the enthusiasm among the nationals regarding their country. Having said
that, the sport world has been growing to be a major contributor to the world economy too,
thereby any dispute related either to the athlete or federations needs to be quickly settled in a
confidential way else the career of the sportsman as well the sports world will suffer a serious
setback. E.g. instances of doping, breach of contract between the player and the club, dispute
between sports man and the national federation. Hence in this kind of problems need to be

6
settled peacefully by person who has the knowledge of sports arena as well as quick disposal
of the dispute is required so the sports dispute resolution system comes into play.
Sports arbitration is a form of SDR which specifically deals with matters of sport of all kind.
This would be the main focus of the particular research study conducted by the researcher
herein. The parties in sport arbitration are mainly, the clubs, athletes, federations etc. The
hierarchy of decision makers in sporting disputes are as follows:1
1. National Governing Bodies and their Subsidiaries: The primary responsibility for
avoiding and resolving sporting disputes lies with national governing bodies (NGBs)
or sports organizations (NSOs) and their subsidiary organizations (clubs, leagues,
regional and provincial organizations). Majority of them are private tribunals who
have the power to make rules and regulations which are binding on its members. They
derive their power from their governing documents-rules, regulations, by-laws and
constitutions-which form a contract between the organization and its members. The
contract thus both establishes the legal basis for the organization to exercise its
authority, as well as the rights and obligations of membership. The authority to act
and make decisions on the basis of such above-stated documents, it is in the best
interest of every organization to have sound policies relating to the areas of
governance that are often most contentious, such as eligibility and team selection,
discipline, and especially hearings and appeals.
2. The Conflicting Roles of the Sporting Body as Rule Maker, Prosecutor and Judge:
Initially, disagreements between the organization and its members should be resolved
by internal administrative review within the body, independent arbitration or a
combination of the two. The organization should also establish appeal policies from
its own decisions.
3. International and National Sporting Federations: At the top of the hierarchy, is the
International federations who perform a governing function over sport for the
development and regulation of sport at an international level, and National Sporting
Organizations do the same on a national level.

1
Graeme Mew and Mary Jane Richards, “More than just a game: resolving disputes in modern sport” Available
at-
http://www.arbitrationroundtable.com/mew/Alternative%20Dispute%20Resolution%20in%20the%20Sports%
20Field%20-%20G%20Mew.pdf (Visited on April 18, 2015)

7
Sports Dispute Resolution system is an alternative forum which comes in form of arbitration,
mediation and conciliation. Let’s take brief overview of SDR systems prevailing in countries
like UK, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa is given below:

In U.K., the Sport Dispute Resolution Panel (SDRP) was formed in 1997, and began its
work in 1999. The Sports Disputes Tribunal of New Zealand was established in 2003.
South Africa’s Sports Commission Dispute Resolution Centre (SCDRC), which operates
under the South African Sports Commission, was created in 1998. In Canada, the Sport
Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC), was launched in 2004.

The issues which are dealt by the SDR system in these countries are

 The South African SCDRC deals with are team selection and criteria; non compliance
with the policies or constitution of an National Sporting Organization; poor
communication between executives and members and the unification of federations.
 The UK SDRP deals with issues such as discipline, doping, suspension, eligibility,
selection, child welfare, funding, commercial contracts or any other sports related
matters.
 The Sport Dispute Tribunal of New Zealand is competent to hear any sports related
dispute, particularly anti-doping issues, appeals against decisions made by an NSO,
selection decisions, and assistance with matters of “national significance” or
“interpretation” or other special cases.
 In Canada, the SDRCC is authorized to deal with any dispute with “national impact.”
Disputes at the international, provincial, municipal and local levels fall outside the
jurisdiction of the Centre.

Mediation, Arbitration and Conciliation are offered in all the above stated tribunals for
settlement of disputes.

The SDR systems although settles disputes in sports arena through various modes in like of
mediation, conciliation and arbitration, but the most prevalent and used mode is that of
arbitration and which is the main protagonist of the research work.

**********

8
 CHAPTER – II
MACHINERY OF SPORTS ARBITRATION: CAS AND ICAS
The predominant and most used form SDR system is the arbitration, thereby this chapter
specifically focuses on two institutions which were formed for the purpose of sports
arbitration i.e. Court of Arbitration for Sports and International Council of Arbitration for
Sports and they are the most trusted institution in world of sports for settlement of disputes.

It is imperative to keep sports out of the court because few instances of dirt can destroy the
entire motto behind sports. The court of arbitration for sport has played a pivotal role from a
long time, hence there is a need to know the historical background of such institution; With
the increased intrusion of law into sport, particularly related to challenges on substance abuse
allegations, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) became concerned that instead of
sport being decided on the field of play, it would regrettably spend more of its time in
laboratories and courtrooms. Thus, in the 1980s the need for a proper, independent,
international arbitration panel became a priority. 2 The IOC realised that in order to be
recognised by national courts as adequate, their system of internal dispute resolution would
have to satisfy a number of tests and have to be full proof. So the governing law is carefully
drafted and Court of Arbitration of sport was established in 1983 in the reign of Juan
Antonio Samaranch. The governing law of the CAS was to be Swiss law. It is also known by
its French title, Tribunal Arbitral du Sport (TAS). It is based in Lausanne, Switzerland, and
has two permanent branches in Sydney, Australia, and New York, USA.

 Organisation and Structure of CAS:3

The CAS Statute of 1984 was accompanied by a set of procedural Regulations. Both the
statute and procedural regulations were slightly modified in 1990. Under these rules, the CAS
was composed of 60 members appointed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the
International Federations (IF), the National Olympic Committees (NOC) and the IOC
President (15 members each). The IOC President had to choose those 15 members from
outside the other three groups. In addition, all the operating costs of the CAS were borne by
the IOC. In principle, the proceedings were free of charge, except for disputes of a financial

2
C.J. Burger, “Taking sports out of the courts: Alternate Dispute Resolution and International Court of
Arbitration for Sport” 10(2) JLAS 124, 2000
3
History of CAS, Available at- http://www.tas-cas.org/en/general-information/history-of-the-cas.html (Visited
on May 15, 2015)

9
nature, when the parties could be required to pay a share of the costs. The annual budget was
approved by the CAS President alone.

After the case of Gundel there was a major reform in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Firstly, the CAS Statute and Regulations were completely revised to make them more
efficient and to modify the structure of the institution. Secondly, it was imperative to make it
independent of the IOC which had sponsored it since its creation because challenges were
made on the basis that as IOC sponsors it CAS is biased in nature in certain cases. The
biggest change resulting from this reform was the creation of an “International Council of
Arbitration for Sport” (ICAS) to look after the running and financing of the CAS, thereby
replacing IOC. Further code of CAS was divided into arbitration divisions i.e. Ordinary
Arbitration Division and Appeals Arbitration Division in order to make a clear distinction
between disputes of sole instance and those arising from a decision taken by a sports body.
Finally, the CAS reforms were definitively enshrined in a "Code of Sports-related
Arbitration", which came into force on November 22, 1994 and was revised on January 1,
2004.

The latest update in relation to the Code of Sports-related Arbitration came into force on
January 1, 2010. The 70-article Code is divided into two parts: the Statutes of bodies working
for the settlement of sports-related disputes i.e. articles S1 to S26, and the Procedural Rules
i.e. articles R27 to R70. The Code thus establishes rules for four distinct procedures:

 the ordinary arbitration procedure;

 the appeals arbitration procedure;
 the advisory procedure, which is non-contentious and allows certain sports bodies to
seek advisory opinions from the CAS;
 the mediation procedure.

There are two classic phases to arbitration proceedings: written proceedings, with an
exchange of statements of case, and oral proceedings, where the parties are heard by the
arbitrators, generally at the seat of the CAS in Lausanne. The mediation procedure follows
the pattern decided by the parties. Failing agreement on this, the CAS mediator decides the
procedure to be followed. Apart from arbitration and mediation CAS renders advisory
opinions which are known as ‘Consultation Proceedings’ to settle the disputes in relation to
the practice or development of sports or any activity related to sports.

10
The CAS performs its functions through the intermediary of arbitrators numbering 150 and
who are specialists in sports law with the aid of its court office, which is headed by the
Secretary General. They are appointed for a period of 4-year under renewable terms and they
must sign a ‘letter of independence’ which confirms their impartiality.

 Types of Dispute submitted to CAS:4

A dispute may be submitted to the Court of arbitration for sport only if the arbitration
agreement between the parties specifies that in case of any dispute recourse may be taken to
CAS. Article R27 of the Code stipulates that the CAS has jurisdiction solely to rule on any
kind disputes which is connected with world of sport.

Technically speaking, two types of disputes come before the CAS:

 Disputes of Commercial Nature

 Disputes of Disciplinary Nature

The first category essentially involves disputes relating to the execution of contracts, such as
those relating to sponsorship, the sale of television rights, the staging of sports events, player
transfers and relations between players or coaches and clubs and/or agents (employment
contracts and agency contracts). Disputes relating to civil liability issues also come under this
category (e.g. an accident to an athlete during a sports competition). These so-called
commercial disputes are handled by the CAS acting as a court of sole instance.

Disciplinary cases represent the second group of disputes submitted to the CAS, of which a
large number are doping-related. In addition to doping cases, the CAS is called upon to rule
on various disciplinary cases (violence on the field of play, abuse of a referee).

Such disciplinary cases are generally dealt with in the first instance by the competent sports
authorities, and subsequently become the subject of an appeal to the CAS, which then acts as
a court of last instance.

 The Legal Status of CAS Awards:

An arbitral award rendered by the CAS is final and binding on the parties from the time it is
communicated to them. Like any other international arbitral award, it can be enforced

4
History of CAS, Available at- http://www.tas-cas.org/en/general-information/history-of-the-cas.html (Visited
on May 15, 2015)

11
according to the usual rules of private international law and, in particular, in accordance with
the provisions of the New York Convention. If a party is dissatisfied with a CAS award, it is
possible to challenge the award in Switzerland, where the CAS has its seat, but only on
fulfilment of the following points:

 if a sole arbitrator was designated irregularly or the arbitral tribunal was constituted
irregularly;
 if the arbitral tribunal erroneously held that it had or did not have jurisdiction;
 if the arbitral tribunal ruled on matters beyond the claims submitted to it or if it failed
to rule on one of the claims;
 if the equality of the parties or their right to be heard in adversarial proceeding was
not respected;
 if the award is incompatible with Swiss public policy.

So one of the machinery of sports arbitration is the Court of arbitration of Sports but another
one came up in 1994 when a major reform took place after the Gundel’s case. As we know
already that IOC initiated the establishment of CAS and it primarily regulates it, as well as
funds it. But a question was raised in Gundel’s case that arbitration institution must free and
independent in nature, and it was alleged IOC has an indirect influence in this case. Hence, it
was a need of the hour to form a body independent of IOC which is going supervise or look
after ICAS.

 International Council of Arbitration for Sports (ICAS)

The ICAS is the supreme organ of the CAS. The main task of the ICAS is to safeguard the
independence of the CAS and the rights of the parties. It looks after the administration and
financing of the CAS. The ICAS is composed of 20 members who all are high-level jurists
and well-acquainted with the issues of arbitration and sports law. Upon their appointment, the
ICAS members must sign a declaration undertaking to exercise their function in a personal
capacity, with total objectivity and independence. Indirectly it signifies that in no
circumstances can a member play a part in proceedings before the CAS, either as an arbitrator
or as counsel to a party.

The ICAS exercises several functions which are listed under article S6 of the Code. It does so
either itself, or through the intermediary of its Board, made up of the ICAS President and two
vice-presidents, plus the two presidents of the CAS Divisions. Any changes to the Code of

12
Sports-related Arbitration can be decided only by a full meeting of the ICAS and, more
specifically, a majority of two-thirds of its members. In other cases, a simple majority is
sufficient, provided that at least half the ICAS members are present when the decision is
taken. The ICAS elects its own President, who is also the CAS President, plus its two Vice-
presidents, the President of the Ordinary Arbitration Division, the President of the Appeals
Arbitration Division and the deputies of these divisions. It also appoints the CAS arbitrators
and approves the budget and accounts of the CAS.

Sports arbitration is preached in reality with these two bodies in place and their decision are
binding in nature. Challenges do take place, but somewhat the arbitration taking place in CAS
act as a precedent and carries weightage.

********

13
 CHAPTER – III
SPORTS ARBITRATION: LANDMARK CASES
The researcher is going to deal with following landmark cases in the field of sports
arbitrations:
 Gundel’s Case
 Reynolds’s Case
 Harding’s Case

 THE GUNDEL CASE5

The Swiss Federal Supreme Tribunal (SFST) decision in Gundel v. FEI CAS 92/A/63
constituted a major turning point in the development of CAS.
Abstract:
A German Equestrian competitor appealed a decision of the International Equestrian
Federation’s Judicial Commission (FEI’s) to the court of arbitration for sports. CAS
dismissed the substance of the appeal then Gundel sought to challenge this award at SFST.
The question which was raised by Gundel that CAS do not provide sufficient guarantee of
independence and impartiality which is a key requirement in cases of arbitration.
Facts of the case:
In February, 1992 a horse rider named Elmar Gundel, lodged an appeal for arbitration with
that of CAS against a decision given by FEI. The decision was in relation to doping of the
horse which subsequently disqualified the rider and stand him suspended and fined. CAS
found the case partly in favour of Gundel, so it reduced the punishment of suspension from
three months to one month. Gundel, was not satisfied with the award and challenged it in
SFST on the ground that the award was rendered by such a tribunal which did not meet the
pre-conditions of impartiality and independence which are key elements of any arbitration
case.
Judgement:
On March 15, 1993, the SFST recognised the CAS as a true court of arbitration and noted,
inter-alia that the CAS was not an organ of FEI; that it did not receive any instructions from
the federation.
However, in its judgement, the SFST drew attention to numerous links between CAS and the
IOC, e.g. IOC funds the functioning of CAS, even IOC was competent to modify CAS

5
Jack Anderson (ed.), Leading cases in sports law, 67, Springer, 2013

14
statutes and a considerable power is given to IOC and its president to appoint CAS members.
Hence, some major reform took place after this case, one such is the establishment of ICAS
which is the supreme organ of the CAS and looks after its functioning and ensures its
independence and impartiality to the fullest extent.

 REYNOLDS’S CASE6
The Reynolds case 7 perhaps by far the lengthiest dispute till date, which is full of legal
complexities.
Abstract:
The main significance of Reynolds case is not its outcome, but the extent of judicial errors
throughout the complicated proceedings that could have been avoided if the prescribed
process of international sports law has been followed.
A brief summary of the case in chronological order:
 Harry “Butch” Reynolds is a world class sprinter who regularly participated in
international track and field meets. He is a member of the world record holding team
4 x 400 meters relay team, and is a gold and silver medallist from 1988 Olympics. On
August 12, 1990, he ran in the ‘hercules’90’ meet in Monte Carlo, Monaco, where
after completion of the sprint he was tested for illegal performance-enhancing drugs
test in which he was found positive. His urine sample showed traces of steroid
nandrolone (a drug banned by international track regulations created by IAAF)8.
 Reynolds immediately filed a suit in southern district of Ohio, alleging that the drug
test was given negligently and hence the outcome was an erroneous one. The court
dismissed such claim and asked Reynolds to exhaust his administrative remedies
which is provided by the Amateur Sports Act and Tribunal Arbitral du Sport (TAS).
 Reynolds instead of going for administrative remedies went for appeal against such
decision of the district court whereby the court of appeal agreed with the previous
decision of the district court in context of exhaustion of administrative remedies but
vacated the judgement and directed to dismiss the case on the ground of subject
matter jurisdiction.

6
Patrick K. Thornton, Sports Law, 735, Jones and Bartlett publishers, 2011
7
Reynolds v. International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) 23 F.3d 1110 (6 th Cir. 1994)
8
IAAF (International Amateur Athletic Federation) is an unincorporated association based in London, England
and is made up of track and field organisations representing 205 nations and territories. The main purpose of this
body is to coordinate and control track and field athletes and competitions throughout the world.

15
 Later he participated in an Arbitration process before American Arbitration
Association (AAA) in June, 1991. The AAA arbitrator pronounced Reynolds not
guilty of the charges brought against him and found strong evidences that the drug test
sample which were sent for testing at Paris is not of Reynolds. However, IAAF
refused to acknowledge the outcome of the arbitration because the same was not
conducted under IAAF rules hence it refused to lift the ban.
 Reynolds then appealed before CAS or TAS as required by IAAF. The hearing took
place on September 13, 1991. After thorough examination of all the evidences for a
continuous two week the TAC doping control review board completely exonerated
Reynolds. But still IAAF was not satisfied and reopened his case pursuant to IAAF
rules and conducted an independent arbitration wherein IAAF arbitral panel found
that the drug tests were valid and there is no doubt as to Reynolds guilt hence the ban
on him was upheld.
 After this Reynolds again filed the present action in southern district of Ohio alleging
four different state law causes of action: breach of contract, breach of contractual due
process, defamation and tortuous interference with business relations and he sought
monetary damages and temporary restraining order which would allow him to
compete in Olympic trials. IAAF did not appear before the court claiming that the
court has no jurisdiction over IAAF. The court although gave a restraining order
favouring Reynolds, who in turn somehow or the other qualified to compete in U.S.
Olympic trials. Later the district court held a preliminary injunction hearing to decide
if he should compete in the trials or not; IAAF did not appear again but TAC did and
opposed him. But the court gave a decision in favour of Reynolds but TAC came into
picture and within a night brought an emergency stay over such decision. But Justice
John Paul Stevens of the Supreme Court on receipt of emergency motion by Reynolds
in the context of emergency stay vacated the same.
 TAC again filed a motion against the decision of Judge John Paul Stevens in Full
Supreme Court but the court denied its request and eventually Reynolds was allowed
to compete in Olympic trials. Reynolds made into the relay team as an alternate
athlete but IAAF refused to let him compete in 1993 Olympics and TAC removed him
from U.S. Olympic team. Further the ban was increased by four months.
 On September 28, 1992 Reynolds filed a supplemental complaint with the district
court outlining the developments of the case. IAAF as usual did not appear and court
after giving full notice to IAAF, gave a judgement in Reynolds favour and awarded

16
 $27, 356,008 including treble punitive damages and the district court found that IAAF
acted with ill will and a spirit of revenge against Mr. Reynolds.
 Later, Reynolds began garnishment proceedings against four corporations in
connection with that of IAAF, and then finally IAAF appeared at a garnishment
hearing and filed a motion to quash the garnishment proceedings and to vacate the
default judgement so pronounced. The IAAF contended that the district court cannot
decide such a case as there is a lack of jurisdiction. Finally the judgement of district
court stands reversed.
 Thus, after some 12 court and arbitral proceedings over a period of nearly four years,
Reynolds was left with nothing to show for his marathon exercise in adjudication.9

 HARDING’S CASE
Abstract: In this case, the question which was raised in the sports arena was of criminal
nature. Eventually, the concerned sports person was punished for criminal act in the field of
sports.

Facts of the case:10

On January 6, 1994, figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was attacked while training for the U.S.
Figure Skating Championships. The assailants struck her in the knee with a metal baton,
leaving her injured and unable to compete as she was out of the competition, her biggest
rival, Tonya Harding Skated to victory. As both women prepared to compete in the 1994
Winter Olympics, so rumours began circulating that Tonya was involved in the assault, which
caused an international media frenzy.

A brief summary of the events that took place:

 Tonya Harding was a member of the U.S. figure skating association and by virtue of
such membership she agrees to certain rules governing disciplinary proceedings of the
association. Due to such alleged criminal act of Harding, she was subjected to such
disciplinary proceedings.
 On February 7, 1994 the US Olympic Committee (USOC) promptly announced plans
to convene a disciplinary hearing concerning Harding. Had it taken place, it would

9
James A.R.Nafziger, “International sports law as a process for resolving disputes” 45(1), ICLQ, 135, 1996
10
Tonya Harding’s Skating Scandal, Available at- http://www.oprah.com/world/Tonya-Hardings-Figure-
Skating-Scandal (visited on May, 16 2015)

17
 have been conducted by a nine-member Games Administration Board, whose decision
would have been subject only to final approval by the IOC. The Board scheduled the
hearing in Norway because of the imminence of the Winter Games there.
 But Harding wanted to compete in winter games which were to happen within a week
thereby on February 9, 1994 she filed a $25 million lawsuit against the USOC and
asked for an injunction against the hearing in Norway. Three days later, with the
court's encouragement, the parties settled their dispute. And Harding agreed to
withdraw her lawsuit and appear at a disciplinary hearing in the United States after
conclusion of the Winter Games. Meanwhile, she was free to compete in the Games.
Within a few weeks after the Winter Games, the deferred disciplinary hearing took
place.
 Subsequently in that hearing, the decision was against Harding, she was forced to
resign from USFSA and effectively barred her from major competition. The USFSA
later took her 1994 national title and banned her for life from sanctioned competition.

*********

18
 CHAPTER – IV
SPORTS ARBITRATION IN INDIA: A DEVELOPING EVENT
The researcher has titled the event of sports arbitration in India to be a developing one
because till date no such dispute resolution body has been established. Having said that
certain private bodies are present and an overall effort by the government is also on course to
set up a sport tribunal which shall be independent of the national organizations and even
bring a standard sports law in force for the country.
A brief summary of steps taken in relation to sports arbitration in India:

 The Sports Law and Welfare Association of India, in short known as

“SportslawIndia” was founded under the enable Patron ships of Late Shri R. K. Jain,
Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of India and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Shri Arun
Kumar Mishra, presently Judge of the Supreme Court of India in the year 1986. It
developed links and carries out consultancy work with many International
organizations and partners. “SportslawIndia” provides consultancy on various matters
including regulation of sports governing bodies, general sport and law issues,
intellectual property issues in sport, online advocating in legal disputes of sports in
Court on behalf of sports persons and sports bodies, etc. It further aims for the
discussion of legal problems affecting sports and it too promotes the exchange of a
variety of perspectives and positions of sports law and provide a forum for lawyers
representing Athletes, Teams, Leagues, Conferences, Civic Recreational Programs,
Educational Institutions and other Organizations involved in Professional, Collegiate,
Olympic, Physical Education and Amateur Sports.
 The Court’s intervention in Indian Sports regulatory organisation, made it imperative,
that structure, systems and processes needs to be modernized, and need to be more
sportsperson oriented and more transparent and accountable in their functions.
Therefore, a robust dispute resolution mechanism, especially a strong grievance
redressal mechanism for athletes is need of the hour. E.g. Due to court’s intervention
International Olympic Committee had imposed ban on the Indian Olympic
Association as they had not evolved any international Mechanism for the disposal of
the Sports Related Disputes among Indian Olympic Association and its affiliated
National Sports Organisation. It is neither feasible nor desirable that Government
shall take upon itself the burden of intervention when dispute arise with in National
Sports Federations or when complaints are received about ineffective or inappropriate

19
 deployment of funds, mistakes in management, non-accountability for results
achieved or not achieved, prejudice or bias in the selection of national teams /
athletes, undemocratic or unethical electoral practices and lack of openness and
transparency in functioning. Hence to resolve such kind of dispute and ensure the
development of sports a sport dispute resolution system involving arbitration,
mediation and conciliation needs to be established like that of The UK Sport Dispute
Resolution Panel operating in U.K. etc.
 The Secretary General of the “SportslawIndia” had submitted a draft of the, “Sports
Tribunal of India Act, 2010”, to the Indian Olympic Association. International
Olympic Committee also accorded the draft Act and directed to enact in the mid of
the August, 2010. But the Organisation of the XIX Commonwealth Games, 2010 was
in process, as a result the Indian Olympic Association could only promulgated the
same on February 18, 2011 during the National Games at Jharkhand in their General
Body Meeting. But the same has not been made active till date, because of the lack of
knowledge of the Sports Related Laws by the members of the Indian Court of
Arbitration for the Sports promulgated by the Indian Olympic Association. Even the
then UPA government had also drafted a separate Sports Dispute Redressal
Ombudsman in their draft National Sports Development Bill 2011. 11
 The R. K. Jain Sports Law Knowledge Lecture & Seminar on the topic, “The New
Development in International Sports Law & CAS Jurisprudence with Perspective of
Sports Law in India” was organised on 26 – 27 February, 2011 at New Delhi
recommended the Govt. of India, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports to constitute an
independent Court of Arbitration for Sports for the quick redressal of the Sports
Related Disputes.12
 Presently, the BJP government led by Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi
promised in a bill to set up sport tribunal as soon as possible.

Court of arbitration for sports (CAS) in the Indian context:13

In India, the international forum provided by the CAS has been scarcely utilized. However,
recently the relevance of CAS as a global forum of dispute resolution in sports was realized

11
A Report on “Effectiveness of Sports Arbitration for Promotion of Sports in India, 2015” was presented in 1st
National Games Sports Congress cum Workshop. Available at- https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/sports-
arbitration-prof-dr-amaresh-kumar (Visited on May 16, 2015)
12
Ibid.
13
Devyani Jain, “Judicial trend of intervention in sports arbitration and its future in India”, 1(1) IJAL, 3, 2012

20
in the case of four athletes, Ashwini A.C., Sini Jose, Priyanka Panwar and Tiana Mary
Thomas. These athletes who represented India at the CWG and the Asian Games were
suspended for a period of one year by the National Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel
(“NAADP”) for steroid violations in December, 2011. During the appeal before NAADP,
World Anti-doping agency (“WADA”) cited several rulings of the CAS while arguing for a
more stringent punishment.

Suggestive Measures by the researcher for development of sports dispute resolution system
in India:

 Sports Dispute Redressal Mechanism must be independent of Indian Olympic

Association, National Sports Organisation and Role of Government of India as per
Rule - 61 of the Olympic Charter and Court of Arbitration for Sports, Lausanne,
Switzerland.
 The sports law in India is still in darkness due to lack of awareness and knowledge
hence the researcher opines more research study is required in field of sports law in
India. In that way people, sportspersons, concerned authorities will be aware of the
technicalities of sports law, understand the grievances of the sports persons and lastly
they will learn about the status of sports law which has been operating worldwide.

********

21
 CHAPTER – V
INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION AND SPORTS
ARBITRATION: AN ANALYSIS
Trade and Commerce is an age old activity of the human civilization and this is only reason
why nations big or small are at peace because one way or the other they are inter-dependant
on each other. In case of any dispute in this arena, parties often opt for peaceful mutual
settlement which is only possible if it is a private and confidential in nature but at the same
time have a binding effect. All these attributes are found in alternate dispute resolution
mechanism in form mediation, conciliation and arbitration. Parties keep litigation to be the
last resort because it brings the dispute into public forum as well makes it lengthy. Thereby
parties involved in a trade and commerce related dispute opt for arbitration which gives them
quick remedy as well as confidentiality. This arbitration are mostly international in nature
involving big corporate houses, states etc. There is no standard equivalent law in case of
international commercial arbitration; mostly it guides itself on the will of the parties. Parties
entered in an agreement subsequently having a dispute may opt for arbitration to settle it
peacefully by choosing an impartial and independent tribunal. There can be five applicable
laws in a commercial arbitration of international stature. Presently, UNCITRAL Model law
and New York convention throws light on international commercial arbitration. There are
several arbitration institutions like American Arbitration Association, International Court of
Arbitration etc. who are successfully settling the disputes.

Till now, the research study, we are well aware of the terminology “sports arbitration” and its
mechanism worldwide. There it can be seen that there is worldwide acknowledged supreme
dispute settlement body which was initiated in the year 1983 i.e. Court of Arbitration for
Sport. Any award given by this court is mostly acknowledged by the national courts
worldwide; even the system provides for an appeal procedure.

The researcher observed that in case of international commercial arbitration, the award given
by a seat court may or may not be enforced as a major role is played by the national courts in
place. Further the complexities regarding the procedural law as well as substantive law are
also there in ICA. But the researcher opines if the mechanism of sports arbitration is
embedded in ICA somehow the disputes will be settled peacefully than ever because there
will be no challenges if there is a standard well drafted law in place and a universally
acknowledged superior body who will be the last say in the arena of international commercial

22
arbitration. In reality sports arbitration is one form of international arbitration which is
preached in reality.

Lastly, international commercial arbitration may or may not imbibe the operational structure
of sports arbitration but it needs an immediate reform for better and uniform settlement of
disputes because trade and commerce is the only means by which nations are inter-connected
with each other.

********

23
 CONCLUSION

The field of sport dispute resolution is undoubtedly an evolving one. Sport disputes are
inevitable hence the needs of the sporting community are better met with the speedy and
inexpensive forms of resolution in form of arbitration and mediation than they are with
litigation.

Sporting disputes requires certainty, consistency, neutrality, fairness and respect for the
principles of natural justice which can be achieved through arbitration. And such attributes
can be achieved when it gains the support of all the parties involved in the dispute. Jan
Paulsson even referred sports arbitration to be only form of international arbitration which is
preached in reality. He further opined that sports arbitration is operating with great efficiency
and mentioned in an article that the mechanism of Court of Arbitration for Sports to be a
remarkable one in the context of contractual disputes.

As a concluding remark the researcher opines that sports is such a common passion across
the globe, that it inspires in spectators as well as competitors a mentality of having judged by
the same rules, such that uniformity is maintained throughout and a fair result is obtained.

********

24
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books:

1. Alan Redfern and Martin Hunter, Law and Practice of International Commercial
Arbitration, Published by Sweet and Maxwell, London, 2004.
2. Avtar Singh, Law of Arbitration and Conciliation and Alternative Dispute Resolution
Systems, Published by Eastern Book Company, 10th Edition, 2013.
3. Jack Anderson (ed.), Leading cases in sports law, Published by Springer, 2013.
4. Patrick K. Thornton, Sports Law, Published by Jones and Bartlett publishers, 2011
Articles:
5. C.J. Burger, “Taking sports out of the courts: Alternate Dispute Resolution and
International Court of Arbitration for Sport” Published in 10(2) Journal of Legal
Aspects of Sport, Vol. 10 Issue 2, 2000
6. Devyani Jain, “Judicial trend of intervention in sports arbitration and its future in
India”, 1(1) Published in Indian Journal of Arbitration of Law, Vol. 1 Issue 1, 2012
7. James A.R.Nafziger, “International sports law as a process for resolving disputes”
45(1), Published in International and Comparative Law Quarterly, Vol. 45 Issue 1,
1996
8. Jan Paulsson “Arbitration of International Sport Disputes” Published in Entertainment
and Sports Lawyer, Vol.11 Issue 4, 1994
Report:
1. A Report on “Effectiveness of Sports Arbitration for Promotion of Sports in India,
2015” was presented in 1st National Games Sports Congress cum Workshop.
Websites:
1. http://home.heinonline.org/
2. http://www.jstor.org/
3. http://www.ssrn.com/en/
4. https://www.academia.edu/
5. http://www.arbitrationroundtable.com/mew/Alternative%20Dispute%20Resolution%20in%2
0the%20Sports%20Field%20-%20G%20Mew.pdf
6. http://www.tas-cas.org/en/general-information/history-of-the-cas.html
7. http://www.oprah.com/world/Tonya-Hardings-Figure-Skating-Scandal
8. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/sports-arbitration-prof-dr-amaresh-kumar
*******

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