(CAS) Bulletin - Tribunal Arbitral du Sport / TAS

The Panel, after consultation of the Parties in the
course of the hearing, decided to reject OLA’s request
to remove Mr Reeb’s witness statement from the fi le
on the grounds that according to Article R44.3 (2)
of the CAS Code, the Panel may at any time order
the production of additional documents or the
examination of witnesses. The Panel notes that it is
standard practice for witnesses heard in international
arbitration proceedings to submit witness statements
prior to the hearing.
2. Evidence requested by OLA
In view of the refusals of Messrs Blatter, Infantino,
Villiger and Leu to testify at the hearing OLA
requested that the Panel seek the assistance of the
state courts in order to summon such persons to
testify at the hearing, in application of Article 375
para. 2 and Article 356 para. 2 CCP. In addition, OLA
requested the fi ling by ICAS of “ses comptes annuels,
bilan, compte d’exploitation (ou PP) de 2000 à 2010” and of
the “rapports annuels sur les comptes (du réviseur/du CIAS)”
as well as a chartered accountancy.
On 8 December 2011, the Panel informed the Parties
that OLA’s request to seek the assistance of the state
courts in order to summon the aforementioned
witnesses and all other procedural requests fi led by
OLA were dismissed. The Panel takes the view that
the documents requested by OLA are irrelevant. It
is satisfi ed by Mr Reeb’s detailed testimony that this
Panel and CAS in general meet the requirements
of independence and impartiality required by Swiss
law. In a recent decision, the Federal Tribunal stated
that the CAS is providing adequate guarantee for an
independent and impartial dispute resolution (DFT
4A_246 2011, dated 7 November 2011).
According to Article R44.3 (1) of the CAS Code: “[a]
party may request the Panel to order the other party to produce
documents in its custody or under its control. The party seeking
such production shall demonstrate that the documents are likely
to exist and to be relevant”. The CAS Code is however
silent with respect to orders directed at third persons.
Furthermore, according to Article R44.2 (5) of the
CAS Code: “ the Panel may limit or disallow the appearance
of any witness or expert, or any part of their testimony, on the
grounds of irrelevance ”.
In casu, the evidence and testimonies requested by
OLA are related to three allegations, (i) les “[l]iens
fi nanciers entre les instances du football (FIFA et ses affi liées)
et le CIAS, respectivement le TAS”; (ii) la “[p]ossibilité pour
une personne extérieure – le secrétaire général – d’infl uencer la
formation/d’infl uencer l’issue du litige”; and (iii) la “[l]iste
fermée des arbitres ”.
2.1 The fi nancial links between the world of football
and CAS
The evidence requested by OLA “visent notamment à
établir: (i) la manière dont le football contribue au fi nancement
du CIAS/TAS, (ii) l’évolution du budget du TAS depuis
l’adhésion du football, (iii) la part du football dans les recettes du
TAS de 2000 à 2010 et (iv) les conséquences fi nancières pour
le TAS d’un retrait éventuel du football. Leur administration
est nécessaire pour démontrer la dépendance fi nancière du TAS
face au monde du football. L’audition de M. Blatter a pour but
d’établir les circonstances et les négotiations menées entre FIFA
et CIO, aboutissant à l’abandon du TAF au profi t du TAS.
Ces preuves sont pertinentes”.
The Panel is of the opinion that the information
provided by the CAS Secretary General answered all
the questions raised by Respondent.
According to the statement of the Secretary General,
FIFA’s budget participation is by far lower than the
contribution of the IOC at the time the Federal
Tribunal rendered the Award in the Lazutina case
(ATF 129 III 445). Mr Reeb stated that FIFA is not
a party in the present proceedings and the fi nancial
links between CAS and the world of football can
in no way jeopardize the Panel’s independence and
impartiality.
In 2003, the Federal Tribunal rendered a landmark
decision confi rming that CAS is independent from
the IOC (ATF 129 III 445). It noted that CAS
is not “the vassal” of the IOC and is suffi ciently
independent to render awards comparable to awards
of state courts. The Federal Tribunal reached this
conclusion by analysing in detail the functioning
of CAS and ICAS. In this decision the Federal
Tribunal also confi rmed that the system of the
closed list of arbitrators, as adapted in 1994, meets
the constitutional requirements of independence and
impartiality applicable to arbitral tribunals.
The Panel underlines here that, according to CAS
Secretary General’s statement, upon which the Panel
sees absolutely no reasons not to rely on, the part
of the CAS budget that comes from FIFA is by far
less important than the one coming from the IOC
when the Lazutina award was issued, and (ii) FIFA
is not a party to the present proceedings and, (iii)
the fi nancial links between CAS and the world of
football can therefore in any event not jeopardize the
Panel’s independency and impartiality towards either
the Claimant UEFA, which does not contribute at all
to the funding of ICAS, or the Respondent.
Jurisprudence majeure / Leading cases
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187