INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC ARBITRATION IN SWITZERLAND

Chapter 1 Introduction 10 e. Code of Sports-related Arbitration The International Council of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS) is a Swiss foundation created in 1994 and based in Lausanne, Switzerland, where it operates an arbitration institution known as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The arbitration rules are those issued by ICAS, i.e. the Code of Sports-related Arbitration. The rules apply in two types of cases, namely: – when the parties have agreed to refer a sports-related dispute to CAS (“ordinary arbitration proceedings”); or – where the dispute arises from a decision of a sports federation, sports club or other sports-related institution, to the extent that the statutes and regulations of such institutions or a specific agreement provide for an appeal to CAS (“appeal arbitration proceedings”). A separate set of arbitration rules issued by the CAS deals with sports- related conflicts which may arise during the Olympic Games. For other major sporting events ( e.g. the FIFA World Cup), the CAS has enacted similar sets of rules for the settlement of disputes which may occur during the competitions (see para.1199). The CAS, with the support of its office (the Court Office), supervises and oversees the administration of the proceedings. The individual cases, more than 400 each year, are decided by an arbitral tribunal (the Panel) consisting of either one or three arbitrators who are chosen from an extensive list of arbitrators. f. UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), based in Vienna, has established arbitration rules for ad hoc arbitration proceedings, which were approved by the United Nations General Assembly on 15 December 1976. 18 The current version of the Rules entered into force on 15 August 2010. The UNCITRAL Rules have found worldwide acceptance. They served as the rules for the Iran- United States Claims Tribunal and are frequently applied in investment treaty arbitrations. The decision to submit to the UNCITRAL Rules is a 18 The UNCITRAL Rules should be distinguished from the UNCITRAL Model Law. The latter is not a set of (private) arbitration rules, but rather a model to be adopted or used as guidance by national legislatures. 31 32