On The Legal Issues in the Disputes of Sports Federations’ Leaders’ Election

The Court of Arbitration for Sport(CAS)has resolved several cases of sports federations' leaders' election disputes in recent years.These cases involved the issues such as the interference by the third parties to the election process,the sex discrimination against the candidate,controversy arising from the nomination by the national federations,the discipline sanctions to the candidates for their misconduct in campaigns for votes,the revision of the election rules during the polling,the conflicts between the election rules,etc.Whether the international sports federation could intervene the election of the national sports federation's leaders depends on the organize structure of the relationship between the international and national federations.The model and procedure of the interference is governed by the specific regulations in the charter of the international federations.The national federation could appeal to CAS seeking for the final remedies if it does not accept the interference by the international federation.This is the result of long history of game between sports autonomy and judicial review,while the sports arbitration mechanism should protect the basic sports human right.The nomination by the national federation may influence the election of the leaders of the international federations,although the international federation can not intervene in the nomination process.CAS may become a“court of constitution”in the arbitrations of disputes of sports federations' leaders' election.CAS should examine whether the election rules is in conflict with the public policy.The election of the leaders of the sports federations shall follow the principles of democracy equality,transparency openness,independence justice,rules of law,and solidarity harmony.The election process shall be reformed and developed in the aspect of the institution installation,the subject qualification,and the procedural guarantee.