IRELAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Tim O’Connor, The Bar of Ireland
6. Dispute Resolution 6.1 National Court System
5.2 Copyright/Database Rights No response given for this section. 5.3 Image Rights and Other IP No response given for this section. 5.4 Licensing No response given for this section. 5.5 Sports Data
The Irish courts are extremely reluctant to inter - vene in sporting disputes if it can be avoided, with a strong and consistent line of case law emphasising this. There is no specific require - ment that internal remedies must be exhausted before approaching the courts, but the courts have made it clear in past argument that where the option of internal remedies is open, then parties will be directed to them by the courts as the preferred option. There are some excep - tional cases – for example, where questions of Constitutional or EU law arise, then it is much more likely that the courts would accept it is a matter for them rather than the agreed internal mechanisms, and some commercial arrange - ments would be viewed in a similar light – but it would be wise always to assume that the courts will urge parties towards internal or specifically sporting dispute resolution as the first port of call. 6.2 ADR (Including Arbitration) ADR, and especially mediation, is a fast-growing area of the law. In sports dispute resolution, it is well established, with the GAA’s Dispute Resolu - tion Authority establishing arbitration as its high - est level of appeal in terms, and with Sports Dis - pute Solutions Ireland having been established with Sport Ireland to provide domestic arbitra - tion and mediation to most other Irish sports. The majority of Olympic sports would participate in the CAS system; the notable exception is rug - by where, barring doping, it very much manages its own affairs. The GAA would be even more stark in this regard. As noted above, the full effect of EU law on CAS arbitration would also affect Ireland. The major
Data in sports has become mainstream as much through the activities of newer media voices as through professionals. There is now huge gen - eration and use of sports data, not just in tradi - tionally data-heavy sports such as cycling but also in relation to the major field sports. Although there is an appreciation of the impor - tance of data, there must be some doubts about whether all of the data being collected is being used in the most efficient manner; the abil - ity properly to use data requires considerable upskilling by sporting bodies, and this could be a key point of competitive advantage if proper investment were made. Veterinary data in terms of the huge bloodstock and racing industry is often unremarked, but is a critical feature of possibly the largest sport - ing industry on the island. Manipulation of and access to this data, and possible misuse in rela - tion to betting, is obviously a key fear, and pro - tection of this data is critical. 5.6 Data Protection The GDPR applies fully in Ireland, and all sports must have GDPR policies in place. This is par - ticularly acute given the manner in which domes - tic sporting events can leave Ireland and cross into the UK in, for example, club cycling events at the border with Northern Ireland.
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