Originally from Sports Arbitration: A Coach for Other Players? - ASA Special Series No. 41

1. INTRODUCTION

Imagine you are representing a claimant in an ICC-arbitration proceeding. The respondent takes every chance to delay the proceedings. There are several ways to do so and I do not have to tell you how this can be achieved. The case goes on, already for more than one year. The exhibits fill several binders and you have even not yet reached the stage of the hearing. Your clients are pushing: Why isn’t this progressing? And you may ask yourself: Wouldn’t it be nice to have this sports-type of arbitration?

• An award within three months upon the constitution of the panel as in CAS-appeals?1

• No written submissions and no hearing and finally an ex aequo et bono decision as in basketball?2

• Or even the 24-hous fast track proceedings as in the ad-hoc divisions of the Olympic Games3 or the even faster arbitral proceedings at the America’s Cup?4

2. TYPICAL FEATURES IN SPORTS ARBITRATION

My colleague Prof. Massimo Coccia has already described the typical features in sports arbitration before. I structured them in a slightly different way.