Is the Court of Arbitration for Sport really arbitration?

Abstract

The Court of Arbitration for Sport is an arbitral tribunal, which was originally created with the aim of resolving disputes that have some connection to sports. Its predominant dispute settlement method is arbitration. Thus far the Court of Arbitration for Sport has achieved a great reputation for being a highly fair, effective and respected forum for the settlement of sports disputes in a relatively inexpensive and speedy manner since its inception in 1984.

This paper seeks to test CAS’s arbitral procedure to see whether or not certain traditional elements of arbitration are present and, as a result, whether or not the various benefits of arbitration are offered to sports disputants. The elements discussed are: party consent, party autonomy, institutional independence, independence and impartiality of arbitrators, privacy and confidentiality, and enforcement of awards. Also, this paper provides recommendations where it has found that CAS ought to reflect the listed elements better, so that sports disputants can extract more advantages offered by arbitration.