Teaching Assistant, Arbitration and ADR at the University of Liège
Surfing on a very sporty summer, CEPANI40 organised a conference on sports arbitration on 19 September 2024. Hosted by Fieldfisher Brussels, the participants were given insights on the latest hot topics in sports arbitration and, later, a chance to display their athleticism in mini-Olympic Games.
The evening was first introduced by Maxime Berlingin and Beatrice Van Tornout (Partner and Senior Associate at Fieldfisher). Beatrice organised the event with two other members of the Steering Committee of CEPANI40, Sophie Bourgeois and Dodo Chochitaichvili.
Starting the conference, Pierre Viguier (Senior Associate at Gaillard Banifatemi Shelbaya Disputes) offered a comprehensive history of sports arbitration and emphasized some of its specificities. Focusing on the Cour of Arbitration for Sports, Mr. Viguier presented its structure, role and various challenges.
Drawing from his experience at the recent Olympics Games in Paris, Mr. Viguier illustrated the specificities of sports arbitration, and particularly the Olympics ad hoc division of the CAS, with various examples.
Thereafter, the challenges of sports arbitration were further examined by Sven Demeulemeester (Partner at Altius and co-founder of Atfield). Mr. Demeulemeester listed some of those challenges and presented possible paths forward. Among others, the issues of consent to arbitration in sports, effective review, impartiality and access to justice were highlighted by recent cases.
The figure of State governing bodies, and the role they play in sports arbitration, was also discussed in detail.
Following that, Elisabeth Matthys (Partner at Stibbe and guest professor in sports law at the VUB) offered interesting insights on the opportunities and challenges brought by arbitration as a dispute resolution mechanisms for sports arbitration.
Leaning into her practitioner background, Mrs. Matthys also analyzed the latest trends in sports arbitration in Belgium.
After a very informative Q&A session, a cocktail reception allowed everyone to exchange on their experience. The participants had the opportunity to take part in a mini-Olympic Games. Fortunately, the atmosphere was light and none of the participants needed to use their newly acquired arbitration knowledge to contest the results!
