The international skating union ruling of the CJEU and the future of CAS arbitration in transnational sports governance

Abstract

AbstractOne of the least visible and yet potentially most consequential findings in the trio of decisions related to transnational sports governance rendered by the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on 21 December 2023 concerns the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). It is relatively easy to overlook, as it is tucked away in the much-less scrutinized International Skating Union (ISU) judgment of the Court. Yet, as will be argued at the end of this article, the CJEU’s conclusions regarding the bindingness of CAS arbitration are consequential and will limit the function of the CAS as a kind of safety valve for the Olympic Movement. First, the article traces how the CAS became part of the ISU case in the original decision of the European Commission (EC). Thereafter, I discuss why the General Court (GC), when reviewing the ISU decision, annulled the part dedicated to the CAS, as well as the position of Advocate General (AG) Rantos in his Opinion, which mostly endorsed the GC’s findings. This section is followed by a discussion of the main tenets of the ruling of the Grand Chamber. The final part provides a general assessment of the impact of the decision on the CAS and on the future of transnational sports governance.