January-June 2016
ISSN 2050-005X (Online); 978-1522795582 (ISBN-13); 1522795588 (ISBN-10)
This article examines the minute and fascinating relationship between the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and the international governing body for association football, FIFA. This paper will attempt to examine how effective the CAS has been. It will tease out whether subsequent complicate within FIFA occurs and why the judicial principles of the CAS provide a sobering voice within FIFA. Additionally, in examining the close relationship the CAS has with FIFA, it will become clear why FIFA is capable of extracting unanimous adherence to CAS findings. In essence, it creates an international regime in which compliance is a tacit criterion of participation. Examining FIFA through the lens of international political theory authorizes a fascinating perspective on the CAS and its relationship. It is the organization’s structure and operation as an international regulator that contributes to CAS award adherence. To facilitate this journey, one must first understand the role FIFA plays in international sport, and the type of relationships it has with subsidiary members.
Keywords: FIFA, Court of Arbitration for Sport, international regime, effectiveness, law.
1 Eric Dunning, Sport Matters: Sociological Studies of Sport, Violence and Civilisation (2nd edn, Routledge 1999) 80–106.
2 FIFA, ‘FIFA Statutes: Regulations Governing the Application of the Statutes Standing Orders Of The Congress‘ (Fédération Internationale de Football Association 2013).
3 Ibid.
4 Scott Shapiro, Legality (Harvard University Press 2011), 60, 163.
5 FIFA Statutes (n 2). See also The Football Association, ‘The FA Handbook 2015-16‘ (The Football Association 2015).
6 Ibid., 165.
7 Ibid.
8 All about FIFA (1st edn, Fédération Internationale de Football Association 2015) <http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/organisation/02/13/11/06/03072013allaboutfifa_neutral.pdf> accessed 30 March 2014.
9 Bruno Simma, ‘Court of Arbitration for Sport’ in The Court of Arbitration for Sport, 1984-2004 (1st edn, TMC Asser Press 2006), 22.
10 David McArdle, ‘One Hundred Years of Servitude: Contractual Conflict In English Professional Football Before Bosman’ [2000] Web Journal of Current Legal Issues <http://archive.today/9RfY#selection-411.468-411.617> accessed 31 March 2015.
11 Case C-415/93 Royale Belge des Societes de Football Association (ASBL) v Bosman [1996] All E.R. (EC) 97, para 48.
12 Ibid.
13 Fédération Internationale de Football Association, ‘A Success for the Entire Football Community’ (2015) <http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisation/administration/news/newsid=2568019/index.html> accessed 28 March 2015.
14 Ibid.
15 Ibid.
16 Ibid.
17 Stephen D. Krasner, ‘Structural Causes And Regime Consequences: Regimes As Intervening Variables’ (1982) 36 International Organization, 185–205.
18 Simma, 22.
19 FIFA Statutes, supra.
20 Simma, 22.
21 FIFA Statutes, supra.
22 Robert O. Keohane and Lisa L. Martin, ‘The Promise Of Institutionalist Theory’ (1995) 20 International Security, 48–49.
23 Simma, 24.
24 Ibid.
25 Mendy v Association Internationale de Boxing Amateur CAS 1996/H/OG Atlanta 1996/06
26 Ibid.
27 [2002] 1 W.L.R. 1192.
28 Peter-Joseph Hegarty and Alex Duff, ‘Gareth Bale Joins Real Madrid From Spurts On 6-Year Contract’ Bloomberg (2013) <http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-09-01/bale-to-join-real-madrid-tottenham-manager-villas-boas-says> accessed 30 March 2014.
29 Simon Rice, ‘Christian Ronaldo Release Clause Confirmed: Real Madrid Exit Could Be Triggered at 750M’ The Independent UK (2015).
30 Krasner, supra.
31 Ibid.
32 John Locke and C.B. Macpherson, Second Treatise Of Government (1st edn, Hackett Publishing Co, Inc 1980).
33 Mendy, supra.
34 Richard McLaren, ‘Twenty-Five Years Of The Court Of Arbitration For Sport: A Look In The Rear-View Mirror’ (2010) 20 Marquette Sports Law Review <http://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1482&context=sportslaw> accessed 29 March 2014, 305–33. There is an example, found in Raguz v. Sullivan, which exemplifies that even though CAS appeals may occur within other nations, sometimes entirely within one nation, the institution in Lausanne remains the appropriate site to resolve disputes, even if the first instance of CAS is in Australia. The Swiss Federal Tribunal has found the CAS to be consistently independent and impartial despite arbitrating between members and the IOC. This factor will become a key element in deciding whether CAS is effective in international arbitration.
35 Shapiro, 30–53.
36 Ibid.
37 Joseph Raz, Practical Reason And Norms (Princeton University Press 1990), 38.
38 Ibid.
39 Case Concerning Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v. United States of America) Jurisdiction and Admissibility, Judgment [1986] ICJ Rep 392.
40 [1993] 1 W.L.R. 909.
41 Ibid.
42 Ibid, 939 C.
43 Ibid.
44 Simma, 22.
45 Annie Bersagel, ‘Is there a Stare Decisis Doctrine in the Court of Arbitration for Sport? An Analysis of Published Awards for Anti-Doping Disputes in Track and Field’ [2012] 2 Pepp. Disp. Resol. L.J. 189.
46 Lord Denning MR in Enderby Town Football Club v Football Association [1971] Ch 591, para 602.
47 FIFA Statutes, s66(1).
48 Ibid., s67(2).
49 Ibid., s64.
50 Tareq Eltaib v. Club Gaziantepspor [2006] CAS 2006/A/1100 2006, paras 1–15.
51 Ibid., para 22.
52 Luis Suarez, FC Barcelona & AUF v. FIFA [2014] CAS 2014/A/3665 2014, para 78l; see also cases 3666 & 3667, 2014.
53 Ibid.
54 CAS, Arrêt Du Tribunal Fédéral Suisse, 1st Civil Division, 15 March 1993.
55 FC Schalke, FC Barcelona, & SV Werder Bremen v. Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) [2008] CAS 2008/A/1622, 1623, 1624, para 1–3, 58–60.
56 Suarez, para 77.
57 McLaren, 305–333.
58 FC Politehnica Timisoara SA v. FIFA & Romanian Football Federation (RFF) & Politehnica Stintia 1921 Timisoara Invest SA [2007] CAS 2007/A/1355.
59 Shapiro, 73.
60 Abbas Ravjani, ‘The Court Of Arbitration For Sport: A Subtle Form Of International Delegation’ (2009) 2 Journal of International Media & Entertainment Law <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE|A198547944&v=2.1&u=lond95336&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&authCount=1> accessed 29 March 2014.
61 Ibid.
62 Roy Levi. “Swiss Federal Tribunal Overrules CAS Award in a Landmark Decision: FIFA vs Matuzalem.” The International Sports Law Journal 36. <http://www.probstlaw.ch/bilder/The-International-Sports-Law-Journal-2012.pdf>.
63 Suarez, para 78.
64 Ibid.
65 Rui Botica Santos, Alexandre Mestre and Francisco Raposo de Magalhães, Sports Law In Portugal (Kluwer Law International 2011). Part 1, chapter 1.F, para 281.
66 Ibid.
67 Jesse Lewis Claim, United States v. Great Britain (1921).
68 Simon Jones, ‘Barcelona Blast CAS Ruling As Club’s Appeal Against 2015 Signings Ban Is Rejected’ Daily Mail Online (2014) <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2891100/Barcelona-s-appeal-against-ban-new-signings-2015-rejected-FIFA-decision-upheld-Court-Arbitration-Sport.html> accessed 29 March 2015.
69 Ravjani, 254.
70 Shapiro, 163. Shapiro states that separation between judges and members of the dispute is important to maintain a fair and legitimate system.
71 Krasner, 185–205.
72 See John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (Harvard University Press, 1999) 118. See also Byers, Terri, Trevor Slack, and Milena Parent, Key Concepts in Sport Management (Los Angeles: SAGE, 2012), 65.
73 Krasner, 191.
74 Ewan McKendrick, Contract Law: Texts, Cases, And Materials (6th edn, Oxford University Press 2014).
75 Owen Gibson and Damien Gayle, ‘FIFA Officials Arrested on Corruption Charges as World Cup Inquiry Launched’ The Guardian UK (2015) <http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/may/27/several-top-fifa-officials-arrested> accessed 29 October 2015.
76 Krasner, 191.
77 Ibid.
78 McLaren, 306.
79 [1971] Ch 591.
80 Suarez, supra; Mendy, supra.
81 Michaël Mrkonjic, ‘Sports Organizations, Autonomy and Good Governance’ (Play the Game/ Danish Institute for Sport Studies 2013) <http://dspace.mah.se/dspace/bitstream/handle/2043/17866/AGGIS_Final_report.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y#page=133> accessed 29 March 2015.
† LLB Candidate, University of York Law School; B.A., University of Western Ontario.
(2016). Court of Arbitration for Sport: The Effectiveness of CAS Awards and FIFA. Legal issues Journal, 4 (1), https://www.legalissuesjournal.com/article/04-01-08012016/
