Publish time: Tue Apr 30 16:42:57 CST 2019
On the afternoon of April 10 2019, the symposium on ”Leading Developments in International Sports Arbitration with a Chinese Twist” jointly organized by the Beijing Arbitration Commission / Beijing International Arbitration Center (the “BAC”) and the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services Inc. (the “JAMS”) was successfully held at the BAC international conference hall. This symposium has attracted over 60 professionals from the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, enterprises, associations, colleges and law firms.
The symposium
Dr. Chen Fuyong, Deputy Secretary General of the BAC, delivered a welcoming address for the event. Dr. Chen firstly reviewed the friendly cooperation between the BAC and the JAMS over the past ten years, and introduced the BAC’s expensive experience in handling international commercial disputes. In particular, Dr. Chen stressed that Beijing by far is the only city that holds both summer and winter Olympic Games, and the BAC is proactively exploring how arbitration can serve the sports industry. This symposium is also part and a start of the BAC’s endeavor in this area, and all the participants are expected to offer insightful suggestions and jointly promote the development of the Chinese sports industry. The symposium was moderated by Mr. James Tian, Arbitrator of the BAC and Of Counsel of Allbright Law Offices.
Dr. Chen Fuyong
Mr. James Tian
Thereafter, Mr. Wei (David) Wu, Partner of Llinks Law Offices and CAS Arbitrator, gave a speech themed “Sports Arbitration Issues Affecting Football and Basketball in China”. Mr. Wu introduced the dispute resolution system in football and basketball industries with reference to some recent cases such as the complaint of irregular meeting with the inspector in the CBA basketball games and the discrimination in the AFC Champions League football match, and presented an outlook on the establishment and development of Chinese sports arbitration institution. Based on the new policy of Chinese Football Association, he shared the recent hot topics that deserve attention, including the identification of naturalized players and the arbitrability thereof, disputes concerning juvenile players, and the dealing with twin player contracts.
Mr. Wei (David) Wu
Mr. Jeffrey Benz, BAC/JAMS/CAS Arbitrator, presented a speech themed “Update on Anti-Doping Issues, E-Sports and Sports IP”. Mr. Jeffrey Benz firstly shared the ideas of adjudication in typical doping cases in 2019, IP issues frequently seen in sports events such as sponsorship, licensing, broadcasting and implicit marketing. Meanwhile, Mr. Jeffrey Benz provided an analysis of the structural difference between e-sports and traditional sports as well as new issues arisen therefrom from perspectives of the participants, usual dispute categories, and distinctive legal issues of e-sports.
Mr. Jeffrey Benz
Mr. James Kitching, Managing Partner of Kitching Sports and former GC of Asian Football Confederation, gave a speech on “An Update on Leading Football Cases and Rules”. Firstly, Mr. James Kitching provided a thorough interpretation of the latest rules concerning the jurisdiction, the requirements on appeal, the stability of contract, the relationship between clubs and players, the identification of players’ nationality under the FIFA code of ethics, the FIFA rules on transfer of players and the rules of AFC Champions League. With three typical football disputes as examples, he also shared the latest practice and idea of adjudication in football dispute resolution.
Mr. James Kitching
Next, Mr. Ranse Howell, Director of International Operations of JAMS, delivered closing remarks of the event. Mr. Ranse Howell firstly extended thanks for the speakers’ wonderful speeches, and said that the substances summarized from such speeches will be the audience’s important access to cutting-edge information, and will bring new opportunities to dispute resolution practitioners. Mr. Ranse Howell also believed that this event is one of the dialogues between the JAMS and the BAC aimed at constant improvement and new development, which will go on and on. At last, Mr. Ranse Howell welcomed the audience to attend the Annual Summit on Commercial Dispute Resolution in China to be held by the JAMS and the BAC in June in San Francisco.
Mr. Ranse Howell
Group photo of the speakers
Talks between speakers
Talks between speakers
Talks between speakers
As the 2022 Beijing and Zhangjiakou Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are approaching, sports in China is experiencing a rapid development of industrialization and professionalism. The BAC looks forward to building a platform of exchanges for Chinese and foreign experts and practitioners, and thereby constantly promoting the theoretical research and practical development of sports dispute resolution. We sincerely welcome professionals from various industries to continue to pay attention to and participate in events organized by the BAC. You are also welcome to check the BAC website and WeChat account for more information.