header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us

NLJ this week: A power imbalance in sports arbitration?

© Copyright LexisNexis 2025. All Rights Reserved.
08 August 2025
Issue: 8128 / Categories: Legal News , Sports law , Arbitration , Regulatory , Human rights , EU , International
printer mail-detail
227487
In Semenya v Switzerland, the European Court of Human Rights found that Switzerland violated Caster Semenya’s right to a fair hearing by failing to rigorously review a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling that upheld discriminatory testosterone regulations. Dr Estelle Ivanova of Valloni Attorneys at Law examines the ruling, in which the court criticised the structural imbalance in international sports arbitration where athletes face mandatory arbitration under rules set by powerful governing bodies, in this week's NLJ

The court held that states must apply heightened judicial scrutiny when civil rights of fundamental importance are at stake. The ruling pressures Switzerland—and potentially other jurisdictions—to reform their oversight of sports arbitration.

It also raises broader questions about the legitimacy of CAS and the need for procedural safeguards to protect athletes’ rights in a system dominated by regulatory authorities.

Issue: 8128 / Categories: Legal News , Sports law , Arbitration , Regulatory , Human rights , EU , International
printer mail-details
RELATED ARTICLES
 

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Gilson Gray—Linda Pope

Gilson Gray—Linda Pope

Partner joins family law team inLondon

Jackson Lees Group—five promotions

Jackson Lees Group—five promotions

Private client division announces five new partners

Taylor Wessing—Max Millington

Taylor Wessing—Max Millington

Banking and finance team welcomes partner in London

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Motor commissions & fiduciary duties
The landmark Supreme Court’s decision in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd—along with Rukhadze v Recovery Partners—redefine fiduciary duties in commercial fraud. Writing in NLJ this week, Mary Young of Kingsley Napley analyses the implications of the rulings
NLJ this week: The power of Interpol red notices
Barristers Ben Keith of 5 St Andrew’s Hill and Rhys Davies of Temple Garden Chambers use the arrest of Simon Leviev—the so-called Tinder Swindler—to explore the realities of Interpol red notices, in this week's NLJ
NLJ this week: Approach with caution post-Mazur
Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys [2025] has upended assumptions about who may conduct litigation, warn Kevin Latham and Fraser Barnstaple of Kings Chambers in this week's NLJ. But is it as catastrophic as first feared?
Philip Sales is selected as next Deputy President
Lord Sales has been appointed to become the Deputy President of the Supreme Court after Lord Hodge retires at the end of the year
Tax shock ahead for partners?
Limited liability partnerships (LLPs) are reportedly in the firing line in Chancellor Rachel Reeves upcoming Autumn budget
Copyright © 2025 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll