UK Law and Practice Contributed by: Jamie Singer and Flora Peel, Onside Law
ing the conclusion of a sports governing body’s internal dispute resolution mechanism, national courts are competent to review a decision. However, appeals against the decisions of sports governing bodies’ judicial bodies are limited in scope, and national courts effectively carry out a supervisory role to ensure that parties’ rights are duly exercised (see 6.2 ADR (Including Arbi- tration) and 6.3 Challenging Sports Governing Bodies . 6.2 ADR (Including Arbitration) Matters for Arbitration The Arbitration Act 1996 (the “Act” ), which is currently being reviewed by the Law Commis - sion, provides for the possibility to resolve dis - putes by arbitration before an arbitral tribunal. The Act sets out certain formalities, including that the arbitration must be agreed to by all par - ties involved and be provided for in writing. While much freedom is afforded to parties, cer - tain disputes cannot be resolved through arbi - tration, such as criminal matters, insolvency proceedings or certain employment disputes. In such cases, the national court system will be competent by default. In the sports sector, it is common for UK sports governing bodies to provide for dispute resolu - tion through arbitration in their rules, which are accepted by participants before competing. For example, the FA, the Premier League and Pre - miership Rugby all have internal dispute resolu - tion mechanisms. Once the internal mechanisms are exhausted, a party may appeal the decision before the national courts if they believe the decision was reached unlawfully. The Act allows appeals in cases where:
• the arbitral tribunal was incompetent to rule on the dispute; • there was a serious irregularity affecting the tribunal, the proceedings or the arbitral award that has or will cause injustice; or • a question of law arises out of the award (although this may be excluded in the arbitra - tion agreement). If no dispute resolution rules are provided for by sports governing bodies in their rules, par - ties may wish to resolve a dispute through arbi - tration before external tribunals, such as Sport Resolutions, an independent dispute resolution service that is based in London and provides sport-specific ADR services. Mediation Mediation allows parties to attempt to find an amicable solution without affecting their right to resort to a more direct approach if a favourable outcome is not found. In England, Sport Resolutions (previously the Sports Dispute Resolution Service) provides sport-specific mediation services. With lower costs, more flexible timeframes and far greater confidentiality compared to litigation before the national courts or even arbitration, mediation can be appealing to the often fast-paced and sensitive nature of high-profile sports disputes. 6.3 Challenging Sports Governing Bodies Enforcing Sanctions It is common for a UK sports governing body to provide in its rules how it will enforce sanc - tions, whether these are financial or sporting. Decisions of sports governing bodies that are considered arbitral awards can be enforced under the Act (as defined in 6.2 ADR (Including Arbitration) .
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