Jurisdiction of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for Disputes Arising from a Football Player Transfer Contract

Facts

[X.] , a football club domiciled in [Z.] , and [Y.] Sàrl, a football agency domiciled in [R.] , concluded an agreement on 19 February 2003 regarding the transfer of player [A.] . Clause 4 of this agreement provided that in the event of disputes, the "FIFA Commission" or the "UEFA Commission" shall be competent to decide the legal dispute.

When disagreements arose between the parties regarding the transfer fees owed, the agency [Y.] Sàrl initiated arbitration proceedings with the FIFA Players' Status Committee. However, this committee declared itself incompetent. Thereupon, the agency requested the District Court of the Canton of Zurich to appoint an arbitrator, who also declared himself incompetent.

Finally, the agency [Y.] Sàrl filed a claim with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the football club [X.] . The CAS, based on the arbitration clause in Clause 4 of the agreement of 19 February 2003, declared itself competent to decide the legal dispute in connection with the transfer of player [A.] .

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court confirmed the jurisdiction of the CAS. It stated that the wording of Clause 4 of the agreement clearly showed the parties' intention to exclude state jurisdiction and instead have any disputes decided in arbitration proceedings. Although the designation of the "FIFA Commission" or "UEFA Commission" as the competent authority was erroneous, as these organisations could not have decided the dispute, it was to be assumed under…