On 1 January 2025, the new DIS Sport Arbitration Rules (DIS-SportSchO) came into force. They replace the DIS Sport Arbitration Rules from 2016 and apply to all arbitral proceedings submitted to the German Court of Arbitration for Sport from 1 January 2025.
The DIS Sport Arbitration Rules can be found here.
The DIS Sport Arbitration Rules are specifically tailored to the needs of sport and can be used for a wide variety of sports-related disputes. These include commercial disputes relating to sport (e.g. sponsorship contracts), disputes relating to association or company law (e.g. granting or withdrawal of licences or participation rights in leagues) and, of course, disputes relating to sports law in the traditional sense (e.g. sanctions for violation of anti-doping rules; review of doping sanctions under association law; nomination disputes).
One of the main innovations of the 2025 DIS Sport Arbitration Rules is the alignment of the provisions with the rules of the 2018 DIS Arbitration Rules, taking into account the essential sport-specific features. In addition, the new rules implement the requirements for arbitration proceedings arising from the reform of the WADA Code.
The revision of the DIS Sport Arbitration Rules was guided by the principles of recognising the importance of sport as an established and important area of dispute resolution for the DIS, increasing the transparency of case management practices and further strengthening the opportunities for athletes to participate and enforce their rights.