PROBLEMATIC ISSUES OF SPORTS DISPUTES RESOLUTION BY NATIONAL COURTS

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the possibility of sports disputes resolution by the national courts of Ukraine. The connection between the features of sports disputes and the choice of methods of their resolution is determined. Sports federations, associations, unions, etc. are public associations; therefore, they operate on the principles of, in particular, voluntariness, self-government, equality before the law. If the sports federation’s statute defines the bodies of sports justice, sports disputes are the subject of arbitration proceedings and cannot be resolved by national courts of any jurisdiction. The effective methods of resolving sports disputes are negotiations, arbitration and mediation, which is usually either a separate method of dispute resolution or a stage before application to arbitration. Mediation is provided for the resolution of contractual disputes and cannot be applied in relation to doping, corruption and contractual matches. The arbitration is the optimal way to resolve sports disputes, and on the example of UAF bodies, it was established that although a single sports arbitration has not been established in Ukraine, sports arbitration bodies operate under sports federations, the powers of which extend to a certain type of sport. It was determined that the bodies of sports justice of the UAF are the Control and Disciplinary Committee and the Appeals Committee, and disputes arising between football entities are resolved by the UAF’s Dispute Resolution Chamber. Decisions of the UAF Appeals Committee and the UAF Dispute Resolution Chamber can be appealed to the SAC. It is concluded that sports disputes in Ukraine should be resolved out of court, while the most common way to resolve them is to go to arbitrations that are established under the sports federations.