Decisions of the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber viewed as precedents (labor disputes cases in the field of football)

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Author: Artem Bredikhin

DOI: 10.21128/2226-2059-2019-3-59-68

Keywords: Court of Arbitration for Sport; FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber; FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players; labor disputes

Abstract

This article is devoted to the analysis of the arbitration practice on labor disputes in the field of football in the context of the interaction of legal positions of the International Football Federation Dispute Resolution Chamber and the Court of Arbitration for Sport within the framework for the interpretation of the FIFA Regulations on the status and transfer of players. These bodies constitute the international football system for the prompt and effective settlement and resolution of the disputes, based on the principle of equal rights of the parties. Currently, one of the functions of the Court of Arbitration for Sport is to review the decisions of the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber in appellate order after the jurisdiction of this body to resolve the disputes between FIFA, FIFA members, confederations, leagues, sports clubs, players, officials and agents of players was approved by FIFA in 2002. The arbitrators of the Court of Arbitration for Sport often adhere to the opposing positions regarding the interpretation of the FIFA Rules when reviewing decisions. In this regard, the author considers it useful to conduct a study on the positions of the abovementioned bodies on the issues of determining the amount of compensation for the unilateral termination of the employment contract, identifying the difference between the “buyout clause” and the “liquidated damages”, and imposing the requirements to arbitration courts established at the national level. The article also examines the process of determining the jurisdiction of the cross-border labor disputes. As a result of the analysis, the author comes to the conclusion that the Court of Arbitration for Sport, in addition to serving as a court of appeal for the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber, is also engaged in the interpretation of the provisions of FIFA Regulations. In other words, the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber carry out a kind of “strength test” for the adopted regulatory norms in the field of sports. Thus, on the example of football, it is concluded that for the development of the norms of social regulation in sports it is extremely important to ensure their uniform application by the participants in public relations in a particular sport.

About the author: Artem Bredikhin – Ph.D. Student, Department of General and Interdisciplinary Legal Disciplines, Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia.

Citation: Bredikhin A. (2019) Resheniya Sportivnogo arbitrazhnogo suda i Palaty FIFA po razresheniyu sporov, obladayushchie siloy pretsedenta (na primere trudovykh sporov v sfere futbola) [Decisions of the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber viewed as precedents (labor disputes cases in the field of football)]. Mezhdunarodnoe pravosudie, vol.9, no.3, pp.59–68. (In Russian).

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