In the Dominican Republic in 2011, the Dominican Olympic Committee under the presidency of Luisin Mejia Oviedo put into operation the Arbitration Court in the Center for Conflict Resolution in Santo Domingo.
This article will reveal what is the legal basis for this decision in light of the General Sports Law 356-05? What has been the progress in sports justice in our country since the creation of the Arbitration Court? Is the decision in accordance with what the Dominican legislator established in said Law?
The first thing we must clarify is that the arbitration? It is an expedited process, it refers to an alternative conflict resolution, in a more plain language, it is when two or more people agree to choose an impartial third party voluntarily and can resolve their differences without having to reach the ordinary justice, which is a private process.
When you analyze the General Law of Sports 356-05, you verify that the decision of the Dominican Olympic Committee on sports arbitration lacks any legal basis, the first thing we have to point out is that what the law mandates in chapter XXIV, is the creation of the National Sports Court, which means the constitution of a specialized jurisdiction. Article 130 establishes the scope of said court, which is all the organizations and people that make up the national sports system; that is, professional, Olympic and amateur.
Unlike arbitration, known commercially, the parties have to agree to choose an impartial third party. In the matter in question it is not necessary because it is a mandate of the law, although it uses the word arbitration it is to establish the scope of competence of said court, it is everything related to sports and expeditious, that does not transgress public order .
The person responsible for putting said specialized jurisdiction into operation is the Supreme Court of Justice, to guarantee effective judicial protection and universal principles of rights.
This justice must be free as established by the Dominican Constitution, which is not the case of the Conflict Resolution Center of Santo Domingo, which is private.
Although the COD established sports arbitration in fact and right, it is outside the law, advances in sports justice are practically non-existent, although this led to placing the figure of the arbitration court in all the statutes of the federations. The creation of the disciplinary code and procedure was avoided, which in light of events reflects a simple formality, but in practice most federations are unaware of the figure of the arbitration tribunal, and quite the contrary, they prefer that their internal conflicts go to ordinary justice, because that way you save time giving it an image of legality.
They have reached the point where presidents of federations have submitted their athletes to ordinary justice, this not only constitutes an abuse of power typified in the law, but also a disregard of their own regulations.
With a marked difference, the Court of International Arbitration (CAS), which is the pioneer of sports justice and its headquarters are located in Lausanne, Switzerland, is a private initiative, even so, the Swiss federal justice supervises that the awards issued by that court comply with the universal principles of justice. In the case of our country, it is a legal mandate for the creation of said jurisdiction; therefore, the official body is the judiciary
Dr. Juan Francisco Puello Herrera, professor and arbitration expert, corroborates that what was established in the General Sports Law was a specialized jurisdiction, not an arbitration court.
Do you know, dear reader, how many awards has the Arbitration Court created by the COD issued? None, I will not make a value judgment, but you draw your own conclusions if we could call it justice.