Recognition, Enforcement and Enforcement of Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) Judgments before National and International Federations
Court of Arbitration for Sport (“Court of Arbitration for Sport”) (“Tribunal Arbitral du Sport”) or known as “CAS”; It was established in Switzerland in 1984 to resolve sporting disputes by adopting the principles of “impartiality and independence” as the basic philosophy within the scope of the competence required by the unique characteristics of sports judging.
Although the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) was established with the handicap of being an entity within the International Olympic Committee (IOC), it soon took on the identity of a Court of Arbitration.
As a matter of fact, FIFA (Union of International Football Associations) and most national and international sports federations have clearly stated that the decisions made by their affiliated bodies are subject to the supervision of CAS as the final authority.
FIFA, the highest level governing body of Football, Futsal and Beach Football worldwide; It recognized the absolute authority of CAS as of November 11, 2002, and put it into effect in 2004.
In accordance with Article 58 of the FIFA Statute, which relates to the authority of CAS, against decisions taken by FIFA as the final authority, as well as decisions taken by confederations, members or leagues; An application can be made to CAS within 21 days from the notification of the decision. (FIFA Statute article 58/1)
However, CAS cannot be appealed against decisions regarding violations of the rules of the game, decisions banning up to 4 matches (including four) or 3 months, other than decisions regarding doping, and decisions against which an appeal can be made before an ordinary and independent arbitral tribunal of a federation or confederation. (FIFA Statute article 58/3)
As a matter of fact, UEFA, the manager and controller of the same branches in Europe, states in Article 4 of the Champions League Directive titled “Admission criteria and procedures” and in Article 84 titled Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS); It approved the absolute authority of CAS in terms of the matches played in the Champions League and included the relevant issues.
In Article 61 of the UEFA Statute, disputes between UEFA and federations, leagues, members, players or officials; It has been stated that CAS is authorized as the first instance court for disputes with a European dimension between federations, leagues, clubs, players and officials, and that CAS is authorized only for disputes that do not fall under the jurisdiction of a body of UEFA.
In the 62nd article of the statute; “Against any decision taken by a body of UEFA, the exclusive authority of CAS as the court of appeal has been accepted, stating that only CAS can be appealed to, which will eliminate the authority of all other courts and arbitral tribunals.
On the other hand, according to Article 63 of the statute, CAS; Disputes regarding the application of a rule of a purely sporting nature, such as the rules of the game or the technical practices of a competition, decisions in which a natural person is banned from the competition for up to 2 matches or 1 month, and a national dispute arising from the application of the statute or statute of a federation, can be resolved by an impartial and independent judge. It does not have the authority to decide applications against an arbitral award made by the arbitral tribunal.
In cases where the absolute authority of CAS is accepted over a federation, CAS; If it decides as the court of first instance, CAS may also make an appeal against this decision, if provided for in the statute.
The decisions made by CAS are final and binding. In this regard, the “New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards”, to which 161 countries are parties, is valid.
Turkey passed the law approving this agreement in 1991 and officially accepted it in 1992.
However, Türkiye has made two reservations to the agreement, these are;
“the decision must have been made in a country that is a party to this agreement” (Since CAS is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland is naturally a party to this agreement).
“The decision relates to a dispute of a commercial nature according to Turkish law”.
In particular, with the second reservation that “the decision relates to a dispute of a commercial nature according to Turkish law”, the scope of recognition and enforcement has been considerably narrowed.
Due to the stated reservations, our country has only allowed recognition and enforcement of CAS decisions regarding sports disputes of a “commercial” nature, such as sponsorship contracts and broadcasting contracts.
At this point, considering the disciplinary side and international dimension of sports, it should not be forgotten that; It is important to recognize and enforce CAS’s other decisions.
As a matter of fact, Article 64 of the Statute of the Turkish Football Federation includes some regulations regarding the Court of Arbitration for Sports.
Accordingly, in accordance with the FIFA AND UEFA statutes, all appeals against a final and binding FIFA or UEFA decision will be dealt with by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland.
However, CAS; cannot hear objections against violations of the rules of the game, suspensions in line with the relevant provisions of the FIFA and UEFA statutes, or decisions taken by the Arbitration Board, independently and duly constituted by the TFF. (TFF Statute article 64/1)
TFF; It ensures that it and its members, players, officials, competition organizers and players’ representatives fully comply with all decisions taken and finalized by UEFA and FIFA bodies and CAS. (TFF Statute article 64/2)
The exorbitant increase in the number of athletes and sports organizations over time has brought about an increase in the number of national and international competitions. In parallel with this development, an increase in sports-related disputes has been observed, making it necessary for these disputes to be resolved in accordance with the dynamics of the sport itself.
Indeed, resolving disputes that arise especially in international competitions as soon as possible will directly affect the fate of the competitions. However, the existence of many organizations operating in this field and the inconsistencies that arise between their decisions and practices have greatly increased the need to ensure uniformity in this field. CAS, which is the judicial authority capable of providing the most appropriate response to this need, has undertaken this task.
Although CAS has not closed its door to alternative dispute resolution methods, it has really come to the fore with the advantages provided by its arbitration function.
The Court of Arbitration for Sports has fulfilled its duty to resolve disputes arising from Sports Law promptly and fairly, with the various decisions it has made to date.
Therefore, in addition to making some arrangements for the execution of the decisions given by CAS, taking into account both its national and international reputation, it is necessary to revise the reservation regarding the condition of being “commercial” in the “New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards”. In this way; It is important to make these regulations in terms of the development of our country’s sports and suitability for the purpose of arbitration, as it will provide the emergence of unique resources in terms of Sports Law, create a kind of local-based jurisprudence and pave the way for faster resolution of disputes.
