AMENDMENTS TO THE CODE OF SPORTS-RELATED ARBITRATION WITH EFFECT FROM 1 NOVEMBER 2022

Lausanne, 11 October 2022 – The International Council of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS), the governing body of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), has adopted amendments to the Code of Sports-related arbitration (the CAS Code). The CAS Code is the text that sets out the statutes of ICAS, as well as the procedural rules for CAS arbitrations.
The amendments will take effect from 1 November 2022 and can be consulted here, in the three official CAS languages (English, French and Spanish).
Amendments to the Statutes of ICAS
In view of the significant increase of the number of arbitrations related to football conducted by CAS, ICAS has decided to increase the number of ICAS members from 20 to 22 in order to guarantee a better representation of football stakeholders.
The additional two ICAS members will be appointed within the next weeks in order to be in function from the beginning of the next four-year term, 2023-2026.
Article S6 para. 9 has been amended to reflect that, from 2023, the ICAS Legal Aid Commission will manage two separate legal aid funds: the existing legal aid fund and a new Football Legal Aid Fund (FLAF) dedicated to football matters. This change reflects the need to separate legal aid requests submitted in football-related disputes from legal aid requests submitted in relation to other sports as the FLAF will be financed by the football stakeholders while the classic legal aid fund will continue to be financed by the Olympic Movement. The Legal Aid scheme helps athletes without sufficient financial means to access to CAS arbitration.
Amendments to the Procedural Rules
Adjustments have been made to several articles of the Procedural Rules that govern CAS arbitrations in order to tighten up the existing language, to bring them into line with current practice and jurisprudence, and to enhance the efficiency of the CAS services.
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ICAS is a Swiss foundation created in 1994 composed of international judges, professors or lawyers active in the judiciary, international arbitration and/or sports administration. As the governing body of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), ICAS manages the administration and finances of the CAS.