IRELAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Tim O’Connor, The Bar of Ireland
recent development has been the effective EU onshoring of UEFA arbitrations before CAS, with Dublin now available as an option as the seat of such arbitrations. The potential effects of the Seraing case on top of ISU could push this trend even further. 6.3 Challenging Sports Governing Bodies The powers of sports governing bodies derive from contract and the agreement to be bound by the rules of the relevant association. The courts are generally deferential to this, preferring, as noted, to leave matters to internal mechanisms and operating a supervisory jurisdiction over those internal mechanisms rather than directly dealing with matters themselves. Once there is compliance with these general restrictions, such as the requirements of natural and Constitutional justice and the rules of the sporting body itself, the courts are reluctant to intervene. For those bodies whose rules permit access to CAS, this remains an option. However, the recent ISU decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) would be of obvi - ous relevance and, as noted above, the Seraing case, and the full extent of how this will play out, remains to be seen. It should be noted that the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights are not directly applicable in Ireland, which has a strong dualist legal system. The provisions of the ECHR are given some domestic effect by way of the ECHR Act 2003, but apply only to the conduct of state bodies, rather than the private contractual agreements that characterise sporting struc - tures. Some bodies, such as Sport Ireland, would have statutory duties under the Irish Human Rights
and Equality Commission Act 2014, analogous to the public sector equality duty under the Equality Act 2010. However, as always given the multi-jurisdictional nature of sport in Ireland, it would be advisable to take specialist advice if it is felt that this would be appropriate.
7. Employment 7.1 Sports-Related Employment Contracts
There is an increasing trend in the larger sporting bodies for player representative bodies, such as the Gaelic Players Association or the Irish Rugby Players Association, to have a voice. These bod - ies can often act as stakeholders and athlete voices in negotiations such as in those concern - ing standard-form player contracts. However, instances where this has become antagonistic have cropped up. Salary caps are not a feature of Irish sport; indeed, the dominant cultural force in Irish sport, the Gaelic Athletic Association, remains nomi - nally amateur. In terms of professional sports, football contracts are regulated by the Football Association of Ireland very much according to the normal FIFA models. Rugby, an all-island pro - fessional sport, has a more complicated struc - ture, with all players nominally being employed by the IRFU through its provincial teams, with some players for the national team being on true central contracts. The overwhelming dominance of the IRFU in this market and the influence of its restrictions on non-Irish qualified players has not been the focus of much attention but, as with the French JIFF, some elements may come under increasing scrutiny after recent European case law.
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