Sport, Mediation and Arbitration

It is a pleasure to write this Foreword to the second, expanded edition of Ian Blackshaw's well-respected book on the extra-judicial settlement of sports disputes through mediation and arbitration. Prof Blackshaw is a master of his subject who explains in clear and straightforward terms the various forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods available for dealing with a wide range of different kinds of sports disputes, which are on the increase, not least because of the huge sums of money that are nowadays at stake in sport at the elite level. As I have written elsewhere, "[t]he unique investment of competitive egos, emotions, expec- tions, and money in international sports almost guarantees a dividend of highly charged disputes.... . [and] [t]he structure for resolving them is complex. " Dispute resolution, is one of the most critical issues which overshadow the sports arena. As Prof Blackshaw rightly points out however, ADR is "not a panacea" for settling all kinds of sports disputes, and so the role of the courts must not be underestimated. This is true in both Europe and the United States of America, where I practice and teach international sports law. The expanded version of this book includes a more in-depth study of the functions and role of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), based in Lausanne, Switzerland, and also a review of the contribution of CAS to an emerging so-called `Lex Sportiva'.

Alternative Dispute Resolution in General and Mediation in Particular.- General Introduction.- The Courts and Sports Disputes.- Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).- Mediation in General.- Mediation in Practice.- Mediation `Online'.- Mediation by Sports Bodies.- American Arbitration Association (AAA).- The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).- Mediation in Sports Disputes.- Sports Mediation in The People's Republic of China.- Sports Ombudsman.- Evaluation of Sports Mediation.- Settling Sports Disputes by Arbitration Through the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).- Cas Arbitration.- Cas and an Emerging Lex Sportiva.- Settling Sports Disputes Through the World Intellectual Property Organization.- Introductory Remarks and Overview.- ICANN Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy.- The UDRP Administrative Procedure.- Sports Domain Name Disputes.- `Expert Determination'.- WIPO Electronic Case Facility.- Concluding Remarks.