News date: 12 December 2024
Mikhail Ilyashev, Managing Partner at Ilyashev & Partners Law Firm, Member of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine, Chairman of the Sports Arbitration Court at the NOC of Ukraine, took part in Sport & Law: Win-Win Strategy сonference, held on 10 December 2024. The event was organised by the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine and Yurydychna Praktyka Publishing House.
During the session dedicated to sports dispute resolution, Mikhail Ilyashev presented the report Sports Arbitration Court at the NOC of Ukraine: Reload. In this report, he presented the Sports Arbitration Court’s reform for 2024.
Mikhail Ilyashev said that the Sports Arbitration Court at the NOC of Ukraine was created to arbitrate all sports-related disputes, in particular: jurisdictional cases concerning economic and other interests of sports and physical education entities (disciplinary disputes, disputes related to ethics violations and Fair Play rules by athletes, disputes concerning sponsorship contracts, disputes arising under the sports federations’ charters, regulations); appeals to sports decisions made by federations, associations, or bodies.
It will be possible to arbitrate at the Sports Arbitration Court at the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine using two different procedures: regular arbitration and appeal arbitration.
To improve the quality and efficiency of the arbitration mechanisms, the Sports Arbitration Court at the NOC of Ukraine has introduced a transparent and loyal system for determining the amount of arbitration fees and expenses, as well as arbitrators’ fees, thereby strengthening the trust of the parties to the arbitration proceedings in the Sports Arbitration Court at the NOC of Ukraine and its arbitrators. The documents governing the Sports Arbitration Court’s activities are based on the experience of leading international institutions in resolving sports-related disputes through arbitration.
“The Sports Arbitration Court at the NOC of Ukraine is a service institution, intended to settle sports-related disputes in a transparent, efficient and prompt manner. We strive that sports federations will provide in their charters the possibility of appealing decisions of their disciplinary bodies to the Sports Arbitration Court at the NOC of Ukraine. Sports organisations and individuals can resolve internal disputes at the national level without involving national courts, while adhering to the principles of fair and competent arbitration”, said Mikhail Ilyashev. “Due to the fact that the parties can appoint an arbitrator to resolve disputes, and federations can nominate arbitrators themselves, the Sports Arbitration Court will have more trust in the sports community. We expect that sports federations will soon recognise the jurisdiction of the Sports Arbitration Court at the NOC of Ukraine by amending their charters, and sports entities will include arbitration clauses in their contracts.”
The session participants, including representatives of the Ukrainian Football Association, the National Anti-Doping Centre of Ukraine and lawyers from leading law firms, also discussed the implementation of football justice, the specifics of sports dispute resolution and the peculiarities of protecting athletes in anti-doping cases.
The Sports Arbitration Court at the NOC of Ukraine is an independent, permanent arbitration court, established by the Executive Committee of the NOC of Ukraine in 2016. Its competence includes the resolution of disputes between sports entities, i.e. individuals and legal entities, through arbitration on the basis of Ukrainian legislation and the rules and regulations of respective sports organizations.