The Problem of Independence and Impartiality of the Arbitration Committee of the Turkish Football Federation in the Context of the Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights

Abstract

Nowadays, a significant part of sports law disputes are resolved by sports resolution authorities acting through alternative dispute resolution methods such as arbitration and mediation. Pursuant to Article 59 (3) of the Constitution, “The decisions of sports federations relating to sports administration and disciplinary sanctions may only be challenged through compulsory arbitration. The decisions of the Arbitration Committee are final and shall not be appealed to any judicial authority.” The functioning of the Arbitration Committee of the Turkish Football Federation (the Arbitration Committee), which carries out its duties in line with the aforementioned provision of the Constitution, has been recently extensively analysed by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). In Ali Rıza and Others v. Turkey case the ECtHR held that the Arbitration Committee was not independent and impartial. With this decision, the Turkish football arbitration proceedings started to be discussed in terms of the right to a fair trial. The purpose of this study is to analyse the Turkish Football Federation arbitration proceedings in line with the ECtHR judgments in terms of the right to a fair trial. Within the scope of the study, the steps taken by the State and the TFF to overcome the independence and impartiality of the Arbitration Committee have been discussed and solution suggestions are tried to be produced.