The Courts, the CAS and the 'Professional' Athlete

Abstract

This chapter introduces some key judgments concerning athletes’ participation rights and sports arbitration, including the recent cases involving Oscar Pistorius, Matuzalemda Silva and Glasgow Rangers FC. It uses those cases to discuss the relationship between sports arbitration and the powers of the domestic courts, introduces the concepts of ‘international’ and ‘global’ sports law and discusses how awards of arbitral bodies can be enforced, and can be challenged, in ‘ordinary’ courts, with particular reference to the Swiss courts which have oversight of the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Some of the arguments in favour of CAS reform are introduced and the distinction between the courts’ appellate and supervisory functions are discussed.