“Taking EU (Competition) Law outside of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Case C-124/21 P International Skating Union v Commission)” by Antoine Duval and Ben Van Rompuy

Though overshadowed by the European Superleague Company (C-333/21) judgment of Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice (‘CJ’) of 21 December 2023, the ruling rendered on the same day in the International Skating Union (‘ISU’) v European Commission case (C-124/21 P) also demands particular attention. The main part of the ISU judgment similarly addresses the issue of ex ante control over the organisation of third-party competitions, but a small yet important section of the ruling is specific to it. It relates to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and the bindingness of CAS arbitration clauses, which are ubiquitous in the statutes and regulations of international sports governing bodies (SGBs). Our contribution focuses on this issue.