Development of CIES legal service

CIES continues to develop its legal services, in particular in the fields of association law (statutes, regulations, organisation and governance of sport associations), disciplinary law, sport betting and manipulation of competitions.

With the hiring of Pierre Cornu, CIES has further increased its legal capabilities and expertise. Master of law in 1983 (University of Neuchâtel / Switzerland), Pierre Cornu passed the bar exam two years later, after a time of practice in a law office. He then worked as an attorney, and became investigating judge in 1987. Elected as the general prosecutor of the canton of Neuchâtel in 1997, he presided over the Swiss Association of Prosecutors and also worked as an expert in Council of Europe projects, in particular about judges’ and prosecutors’ ethics and deontology. In 2011, Pierre Cornu joined UEFA as chief counsel, integrity and regulatory affairs. Within this frame, he set up a network of integrity officers from the national associations and programmes for fighting the manipulation of competitions. In August 2012, he returned to Neuchâtel to join the CIES team.

Away from his experience at UEFA, Pierre Cornu has also chaired the Swiss Football Association’s (SFA) disciplinary and control committee from 1993 to 2009, and then the same association’s appeals body from 2009 to 2011. Since 1988, he chairs the Appeals Body of the Neuchâtel region’s football association (ANF). He is an honorary member of the SFA, its Amateur League and the ANF. Not to forget that he chaired the International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) Disciplinary Committee from 2008 to 2011.

As a football player, Pierre Cornu won national and regional titles in junior leagues, as well as the Swiss universities’ championship in futsal. As an adult, he played with clubs from the Neuchâtel region.

Rich from these numerous experiences, Pierre Cornu brings his knowledge with him to the CIES as Senior Legal Counsel. His activities with the CIES are multiple. He teaches on the FIFA Master sport management programme, works on legal mandates assigned to the CIES, participates in the Sorbonne-ICSS integrity in sports programme and researches in the fields mentioned above.

To contact Pierre Cornu : [email protected]