INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC ACADEMY 7th JOINT - IOA

At this point the special features of sports law prevail, since in a
specific case rules of national law may not be applied and instead
autonomous sports rules (such as the Olympic Charter, charters and
regulations of national and International Federations/National and
International Olympic Committees, etc.) known as lex sportiva 34 may
apply. The international trend in the world of sport of treating sporting
disputes primarily on the basis of regulations and not national laws 35
is expressed also here 36 .
1.2.5. The Hearing
The philosophy underlying the CAS Ad Hoc Division for rapid
and effective resolution of disputes finds expression in the procedural
provisions where the Arbitration Panel is given wide-ranging margins
to take flexible measures. The hearing is mandatory unless the
Arbitration Panel considers that other forms of procedure are more
appropriate. To this end, immediately after appointment of arbitrators
the hearing between the parties is set and the respondent is summoned.
The summons contains the application for arbitration 37 .
A characteristic feature of proceedings before the Arbitration
Panel is the Panel's discretion to take initiatives in collecting evidence.
This option relates to appointment of experts 38 or examination of
documents, and introduces elements of an (optional) inquisitorial
system into the procedure. For their part, the parties can back up their
claims with all true facts which can be demonstrated using evidentiary
measures including witnesses, and they also have the right to request
that true facts which they could not produce at the hearing be taken
into account after the hearing is over.
From the above it is clear that the CAS Ad Hoc Division reviews
the matter on its merits and operates as an appellate court despite the
fact that decisions challenged before it have been issued by the
jurisdictional bodies of other organisations or legal entities (IOC,
National Olympic Committees, International Federations, Organising
Committee for the Olympic Games). There are also similarities with
proceedings before administrative courts on matters of merits since a)
the decisions challenged before the CAS Ad Hoc Division are issued
by central sporting authorities exercising specific powers in the world
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