New “Disciplinary and Arbitration Procedures of the Sports Movement” Published

The International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) is pleased to announce the publishing in August of a new Good practice handbook - for judicial authorities by the Council of Europe. Pierre Cornu, who previoulsy held the position of Senior Legal Counsel at CIES from 2012 to 2015, and since 2016, is now the President of the CIES Foundation Council, is co-author of the book, together with Sabrina Cuendet and Laurent Vidal, who are both from the Université Paris-Sorbonne (France).

After a judicial career spanning 24 years, first as an investigating magistrate, then as a public prosecutor, Pierre Cornu, who is a lawyer by training, worked for one year at UEFA where he was responsible for disciplinary matters and questions relating to integrity and regulations. For many years prior to that, he chaired disciplinary bodies at the Swiss Football Association and, for many years, also chaired the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) anti-doping panel and also the disciplinary committee of the International Boxing Association (AIBA). In the course of his judicial career, he often worked as an expert for the Council of Europe on judicial reform projects in central and eastern Europe. Since August 2015, Pierre Cornu has been a judge at the Court of Appeals in Neuchâtel, where he is active in both the criminal and civil divisions. 

The collection of good practice handbooks is an illustration of current policies and practices throughout Europe. Its aim is to disseminate and share positive experiences by highlighting the potential for sport to further promote the Council of Europe’s fundamental values of human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

In this lastest edition, several burning topics are discussed. These include, the principle of autonomy for the sports movement, the disciplinary procedures of sports federations, arbitration and the role of the state justice system in sports-related matters. The new publication also considers the fact that since the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) was first set up in 2007, its major priority has been to address the current challenges facing sport in Europe. To this end, it has developed a pan-European programme involving a variety of stakeholders from public authorities and the wider world of sport. 

It is important to mention that the opinions expressed in this work are the views and responsibility of the authors (Pierre Cornu, Sabrina Cuendet and Laurent Vidal) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the Council of Europe.

The booklet can be downloaded for FREE at the following LINK.