General·International Regulations·Court of Arbitration for Sports
Download the Code 2017 edition (in force from 01.01.17)
- In force from
- 2017/01/01
The January 2017 edition of the Code of Sports-related Arbitration changed the basis for calculating time limits to the time at the sender's domicile, and allowed the Panel to rule on legal costs without a request from the parties.
| In force from | 1 January 2017 — under Article R67 |
| Adopting body | International Council of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS) — under Article S6 |
| Structure | 26 statutory articles (S1 to S26) + 44 procedural articles (R27 to R70) |
| Status | Superseded — replaced by the January 2019 edition |
What is the Code of Sports-related Arbitration?
The Code of Sports-related Arbitration of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) brings two instruments together in a single text: the Statutes of the Bodies Working for the Settlement of Sports-related Disputes (Articles S1 to S26), which establish and organise the International Council of Arbitration for Sport and the Court itself, and the Procedural Rules (Articles R27 to R70), which govern ordinary arbitration proceedings, appeal arbitration proceedings and mediation. The Court is seated in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its awards may be challenged only before the Swiss Federal Tribunal, within thirty days and subject to the conditions laid down in Swiss law.
About the January 2017 editionChanges from January 2016
Key changes from the previous edition
- Basis for calculating time limits (Article R32)Previously, time limits were calculated by reference to the local time of the place where the notification was to be made. A filing is now treated as made within the time limit if it is sent before midnight at the time of the party's own domicile — or that of its counsel, where the party is represented. The same rule governs official holidays: what matters is whether the day is a holiday in the place from which the document is sent.
- Sole arbitrator where a share of the costs is not paidThe President of the Division was given the power, where the claimant so requests and the respondent fails to pay its share of the advance of costs within the prescribed time limit, to refer the case to a sole arbitrator.
- Public announcement of the commencement of appeal proceedingsThe CAS Court Office was authorised to announce publicly the commencement of any appeal proceedings and, at a later stage, the composition of the Panel and the date of the hearing; a step towards transparency.
- Notification of the award to the body that issued the decisionA copy of the operative part of the award and of its full text is notified to the authority or sports body that issued the decision under appeal, even where that body is not a party to the proceedings.
- Decision on costs without a request from the partiesIt was made explicit that the Panel may award a contribution towards legal fees and other expenses in favour of the successful party without any specific request from the parties. Advances of costs already paid are not reimbursed, save for the portion exceeding the total of the arbitration costs.
Who this document matters to
Every case that reaches international arbitration from international federations, national Olympic committees or anti-doping organisations ultimately arrives at this text: clubs and federations in transfer disputes and financial claims, athletes facing a disciplinary decision or a doping suspension, and clients and sports lawyers drafting an appeal brief and observing the time limits. The point that proves decisive in practice: under Article R67, each set of proceedings is governed by the edition in force on the date the proceedings were commenced, not the edition published today. Pending cases likewise remain subject to the previous rules, unless both parties request the application of the new ones. For that reason, access to the text of earlier editions has practical importance.