IU McKinney dean named to Court of Arbitration for Sport

Indiana University Robert. H. McKinney School of Law Dean Gary R. Roberts has been appointed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, with branch offices in New York City and Sydney, Australia, CAS is independent of any sports organization and provides services to facilitate the settlement of sports-related disputes through arbitration or mediation by means of procedural rules adapted to specific sports.

Most CAS disputes are handled in much the same way a court case would be, under pre-hearing and hearing rules and procedures established by the court itself.

With the leadership of the International Olympic Committee, the CAS was allowed to become independent, which gave it international credibility. Over the following few years, all international sports federations agreed that disputes to which they or any teams, coaches or athletes under their jurisdiction were parties would be submitted for final binding arbitration to the CAS instead of national courts. Roughly 250 lawyers with extensive backgrounds in sports law have been appointed as judges or members of the CAS by the CAS governing board, the International Court of Arbitration for Sport.  

A recognized expert in sports law, Roberts has published several articles and book chapters on antitrust, labor and other issues in the sports industry, and has co-authored the leading casebook on sports law. He has served as president of the Sports Lawyers Association and as chairman of the Association of American Law Schools Sports Law Section. He is currently an officer and board member of The Sports Lawyers Association and is editor-in-chief of its monthly online newsletter, “The Sports Lawyer.” He is a certified commercial and sports arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association. He is also a founding member and member of the board of directors for the International Association of Sports Professionals and Executives. He has led the law school since 2007.