Abu Dhabi CAS Centre discusses latest developments in sports law
Comes as part of UAE efforts to promote culture of arbitration
Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi CAS Alternative Hearing Centre, in cooperation with the UAE Sports Arbitration Centre and Sader Legal Publishing in the Middle East, organises a forum under the title of “Recent Developments in Sports Law and the Future of Sports Law in the Middle East”.
This comes as part of the UAE efforts to promote the culture of arbitration and keep up with the latest developments in the field of sports and governing legislations, in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs, and the Chairman of Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, which aims at achieving leadership and excellence in all servicesprovided in accordance with the bestinternational practices.
Sports law
"The organizing of a forum on the recent developments in sports law comes within the framework of our keenness to spread the sports legal culture and to qualify legal professionals capable of handling sports-related disputes and cases, particularly given the increasing importance of sport, not only from health and social aspects, but also from economic side; it is a huge industry and a sector for investment that millions of people depend on," Ahmed Ibrahim Al Marzouqi, Executive Director of the Administrative Support Sector at Abu Dhabi Judicial Department stated.
"Sports activities are very important for human beings, especially with the assertion made in many international conventions which state that the practice of sport is a human right. This requires the development of a clear list of human sport-related rights, and the prevention of discrimination in any forms of sport activities," he added.
On his part, Dirar Belhoul Al Falasi, Vice President of the UAE Sports Arbitration Centre, stressed the importance of developing sports laws and legislation to keep up with the UAE future vision, help enhance the sports working system, and to raise the efficiency of representation in international sports forums. "The centre is also working on holding a specialized training course during the coming period, in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi CAS Alternative Hearing Centre and the Swiss Federal Institute of Sport, which will focus on the ethics of sports arbitration," he noted.
Disputes in sports sector
British lawyer Jim Sturman tackled the impact of disputes on sports sector, and the role of disciplinary bodies in ensuring compliance to laws, procedures, and regulations that govern sports by clubs and players in a way that contributes to achieving fair competition at all matches and competitions that are held at the local, regional or international levels, pursuant to the international laws that regulate these competitions.
“It is very important for sports law to keep pace with the changes that take place in the sports environment, while focusing on the mechanisms of dispute resolution and the importance of arbitration to resolve sports-related disputes, based on comprehensive consideration and evaluation of the contractual terms contained in the contracts signed between players and clubs, and full commitment by the certified arbitrators with the ethics and professional conduct and principles of impartiality and integrity to ensure that justice is achieved and each party obtains its right in accordance with the law,” Sturman said.