The Fresno Case ( Catalan : Cas Fresno ) is the name assigned by the Catalonia media and public opinion to the controversial decision of the Federation of International Roller Sports (FIRS) assembly held at Fresno , California , United States , on 26 November 2004, against the admision of Catalonia as a member of the organization, resulting in its expulsion and the loss of the international status it enjoyed as provisional member. It meant that for the first time in history, an international sport team that had been accepted provisionally was later not accepted definitely. At the same time, it was the first time that a regional sport team (Catalonia) had been registered with the opposition of the state the region belonged to ( Spain ).
36-623: The Spanish sport organizations actively lobbied against the Catalonia membership among the members of the assembly. At the Fresno assembly, the membership application was rejected (8–114). However, the Federació Catalana de Patinatge brought the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS) at Lausanne , which admitted irregularities in the assembly (notably the lack of secrecy in the vote), invalidated
72-473: A laboratory, as the athlete asserted, but due to the banned manipulation of the athlete’s blood. The essential difference between ABP judgments and the CAS 2009/A/1912 & 1913 consists in that in the latter case, the athlete's blood data was drawn from a sample the athlete gave at the federations championships and therefore not from data gathered by an official systematic program run by the athlete's union. "The Panel
108-670: A membership of 20 individuals, is responsible for the financing of and financial reporting by the CAS, and it appoints the Director-General of the CAS. Generally speaking, a dispute may be submitted to the CAS only if an arbitration agreement between the parties specifies recourse to the CAS. However, according to rule 61 of the Olympic Charter, all disputes in connection with the Olympic Games can only be submitted to CAS, and all Olympic international federations (IF) have recognised
144-545: A state agency, the Federal Supreme Court examines the uniform application of federal law by the cantonal and federal courts of lower instance. It protects the rights that citizens have under the Federal Constitution. In the proceedings, the Federal Supreme Court examines the application of the law but does not examine the facts established by the lower courts, unless they are manifestly arbitrary. When an appeal
180-477: A term of office of six years. They can be re-elected an unlimited number of times. There is, however, an upper age limit of 68. Anyone who has the right to vote at the federal level may be elected a federal justice; the law does not prescribe any legal training. In practice, however, only proven jurists from the judiciary, practicing legal profession, academia or the public sector are elected. The Federal Supreme Court numbers 19 deputy justices, who are also elected by
216-560: Is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration . Its headquarters are in Lausanne , Switzerland and its courts are located in New York City , Sydney , and Lausanne. Temporary courts are established in current Olympic host cities . The International Council of Arbitration for Sport ( ICAS ) was established simultaneously, and a single president presides over both bodies. The ICAS, which has
252-601: Is aware of the impact its decision will have on a fine, young, elite athlete. It finds, in balancing the interests of Miss Raducan with the commitment of the Olympic Movement to drug-free sport, the Anti-Doping Code must be enforced without compromise." The ad hoc court for the 2016 Olympics had registered 18 cases by 3 August, surpassing the record two days before the Opening Ceremony. 11 of the cases were related to
288-1674: Is composed of seven divisions, with five or six justices each. The tasks of the divisions differ according to the legal domains they cover (public law, private law, criminal law). Guarantee of ownership, national and regional spatial planning and construction law, environmental protection, political rights, international judicial cooperation in criminal matters, road traffic (including the revocation of driving licences), citizenship, guarantees of due process. In criminal proceedings: appeals against interlocutory rulings. Division president : Lorenz Kneubühler, Judges : Monique Jametti, Stephan Haag, Thomas Müller, Laurent Merz, François Chaix Rights of foreigners, taxes and duties, public commercial law (e.g. state liability, subsidies, radio and television), fundamental rights such as freedom of religion and conscience, freedom of language and economic freedom. Division president : Florence Aubry Girardin Judges : Yves Donzallaz, Stephan Hartmann, Marianne Ryter, Julia Hänni, Michael Beusch Code of Obligations (law of obligations), insurance contracts, intellectual property rights, competition law and international arbitration. Division president : Fabienne Hohl Judges : Martha Niquille, Christina Kiss, Yves Rüedi , Marie-Chantal May Canellas Civil Code (law of persons, family law, law of succession and property law), proceedings concerning debt recovery and bankruptcy. Division president : Christian Herrmann Judges : Elisabeth Escher, Luca Marazzi, Nicolas von Werdt, Felix Schöbi, Grégory Bovey Criminal matters arising from substantive criminal law (including
324-447: Is filed, the Federal Supreme Court examines whether the law was correctly applied in the contested decision and thus ensures the uniform application of federal law throughout the country. Its decisions contribute to the development of the law and to its adaptation to new circumstances. The other courts and the administrative authorities use the decisions of the Federal Supreme Court as a reference and adopt their principles. Procedures before
360-816: The Swiss Federal Tribunal ) is the supreme court of the Swiss Confederation and the head of the Swiss judiciary . The Federal Supreme Court is headquartered in the Federal Courthouse in Lausanne in the canton of Vaud . The two social security divisions of the Federal Supreme Court (formerly Federal Insurance Court , as an organizationally independent unit of the Federal Supreme Court), are located in Lucerne . The Federal Assembly elects 38 justices to
396-529: The Administrative Commission and the Conference of Presidents in an advisory capacity. The first woman to be elected into the Federal Supreme Court was Margrith Bigler-Eggenberger in 1972 one year after women were permitted to participate in elections on a federal level. A total of 38 justices sit on the bench of the Federal Supreme Court. Currently 14 women and 24 men serve as federal justices. Of
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#1732863157156432-608: The CAS underwent reforms to make itself more independent of the IOC, both organizationally and financially. The most significant change resulting from this reform was the creation of an "International Council of Arbitration for Sport" (ICAS) to look after the running and financing of the CAS, thereby taking the place of the IOC. As of 2022, 9695 cases had been submitted to CAS since 1986. Ordinary and ad hoc cases were first accepted in 1995, mediation cases in 1999, and anti-doping cases in 2016. As of August 2024, there are 422 CAS Arbitrators around
468-555: The Constitution precludes the Federal Supreme Court from reviewing acts of the Federal Parliament , unless such review is specifically provided for by statute. Decisions of arbitral tribunals constituted under Swiss law, such as the Court of Arbitration for Sport , can be appealed to the Federal Supreme Court, although judicial review is limited to a very narrow set of questions of law in such cases. The supervisory bodies are
504-512: The Court Assembly, the Administrative Commission and the Conference of Presidents. The Court Assembly consists of all ordinary justices and is mainly responsible for the Court's internal organisation. It designates the divisions, appoints their presidents and issues the procedural rules for the Court. The Administrative Commission is responsible for managing the Court's administration. It is composed of
540-426: The Court's docket has become overly full. In the proceedings on which they sit they have the same rights and obligations as the ordinary federal justices. The court clerks are the judicial staff of the justices. Previously their primary task was to draft the written judgements after the decisions had been rendered in court. Due to the increasing case load of the Court, the court clerks are now also tasked with drafting
576-489: The Federal Assembly. Of the deputy justices currently sitting on the bench, three have Italian, five French and 11 German as their native language. Nine of the deputy justices are women. The deputy federal justices serve in a part-time capacity, otherwise they are professors, practicing lawyers or cantonal judges. As a general rule, they serve as replacements for justices who have recused themselves or have taken ill, or when
612-579: The Federal Supreme Court overturned the case of Matuzalém , a Brazilian football player accused of breach of contract . In 2020, the Supreme Court overturned the case of Sun Yang , a Chinese swimmer accused of doping. CAS decisions can be the subject of further appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) . For example, the ECHR found CAS and the Federal Supreme Court discriminated against and violated
648-414: The Federal Supreme Court take place in writing. There are no court hearings with plaintiffs and defendants giving testimony and lawyers pleading their cases. The Federal Supreme Court bases its decisions on facts as they are established by the lower instances and described in the records of the previous proceedings. If the Federal Supreme Court concludes that a lower court has decided incorrectly, it overturns
684-563: The Federal Supreme Court. The current president of the court is Martha Niquille . The Federal Supreme Court is the final arbiter on disputes in the field of civil law (citizens-citizens), the public arena (citizen-state), as well as in disputes between cantons or between cantons and the Confederation. The Supreme Court's decisions in the field of human rights violations can be appealed to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg . As
720-620: The IOC disciplinary commission. These decisions can be appealed to CAS's ad hoc court in the Olympic host city or, if the ad hoc court is no longer available, to the permanent CAS. The inaugural anti-doping division handled eight cases, of which seven were doping cases within its jurisdiction. As a Swiss arbitration organization, decisions of the CAS can be appealed to the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland . Appeals of arbitration decisions are generally not successful, and no evaluation of
756-461: The Olympics. It was established as part of the IOC in 1984 . In 1992, the case of Gundel v. La Fédération Equestre Internationale was decided by the CAS, and then appealed to the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland , challenging CAS impartiality. The Swiss court ruled that the CAS was a true court of arbitration but drew attention to the numerous links between the CAS and the IOC. In response,
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#1732863157156792-512: The President of the Federal Supreme Court, the Vice-President and one other justice. The Conference of Presidents consists of the presidents of the various divisions and is responsible for the coordination of judicial decision-making among the divisions. The President of the Federal Supreme Court acts in an advisory capacity. The Secretary-General participates in meetings held by the Court Assembly,
828-727: The Spanish government. The German representative admitted that she was contacted by the German MP for Sport demanding the vote against Catalonia. He asked her to make sure she was coming back from Fresno with a "No" against Catalonia. In addition, a letter of the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD, the Spanish Council for Sports) to the Colombian federation in which the Spaniards were asking for
864-736: The contested decision and if necessary sends it back to the previous instance for a new decision. In addition to its work as the highest judicial authority, the Federal Supreme Court exercises administrative supervision over the Federal Criminal Court, the Federal Administrative Court and the Federal Patent Court. According to the Constitution of Switzerland , the court has jurisdiction over violations of: Because of an emphasis on direct democracy through referendum ,
900-508: The draft ruling in many cases. They also are involved in an advisory capacity in the preparatory stages of proceedings and during deliberations. They draft the final text of rulings based on the remarks made by the members of the division. Currently 132 court clerks serve on the Federal Supreme Court, approximately one third of whom are women. The 38 federal justices are elected by the United Federal Assembly. The Federal Supreme Court
936-505: The federal justices currently serving on the bench, three have Italian, 12 French and 23 German as their native language. The justices are forbidden from engaging in any gainful occupation outside of their work as federal justices. The federal justices have the status of government officials. The federal justices are proposed by the Judicial Committee and elected by the United Federal Assembly (National Council and Council of States) for
972-500: The full World Championship, where it played in the same group as Spain. Some Catalan media have denounced the pressions by the Spanish government and sport organizations on the members of the assembly. Representatives from Chile or Italy (Sabatino Aracu, member of Forza Italia ) would allegedly suffered from such pressions or receive instructions from their national governments. The Czech Republic representative Radek Pavelec admitted that his federation had received pressures from
1008-410: The jurisdiction of CAS for at least some disputes. Through compliance with the 2009 World Anti-Doping Code , all signatories, including all Olympic international federations and National Olympic Committees , have recognised the jurisdiction of CAS for anti-doping rule violations . Starting in 2016, an anti-doping division of CAS judges, who specialize in doping cases at the Olympic Games, replaced
1044-417: The merits takes place, with the evaluation mainly based on whether procedural requirements have been met, and whether the award is incompatible with public policy . As of March 2012, there have been seven successful appeals. Six of the upheld appeals were procedural in nature. Overruling a CAS decision on the case's merits is extremely rare. It occurred in 2012 for the first time in more than 20 years when
1080-566: The method of voting was secret and the president of the Catalan Federation, Ramon Basiana, was able to defend the nomination. The extraordinary meeting in Rome of the FIRS rejected by 125 votes to 43 for admission as a full member of the Catalan Federation of Skating. Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport ( CAS ; French : Tribunal arbitral du sport , TAS )
1116-603: The parties was secured by the method of selecting arbitrators and the possibility to appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal. However, this decision was in turn overturned by the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany , which ordered a re-trial that is still pending. With the intermixing of sports and politics , the body was originally conceived by International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Juan Antonio Samaranch to deal with disputes arising during
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1152-496: The privacy of runner Caster Semenya . German speed skater Claudia Pechstein , who was unsuccessful in lifting a doping-related suspension in her CAS case, appealed to the Federal Court of Justice of Germany , which however ruled against her, recognising a lack of jurisdiction to revisit her case. The Federal Court ruled that CAS met the requirements of a court of arbitration according to German law and that CAS's independence from
1188-592: The various bans on Russian athletes related to the allegations of state-sponsored doping documented in the McLaren report . By the end of the Games the total number of cases was 28, 16 of which were related to the eligibility of Russian athletes. Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland The Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland ( German : Bundesgericht , French : Tribunal fédéral , Italian : Tribunale federale , Romansh : Tribunal federal ; sometimes
1224-463: The vote against Catalonia has been made public. In that letter the CSD stated that the recognition of Catalonia would alter the Spanish sport national unity and would create a wrong precedent. The same letter was sent to some other South American federations. On 29 November 2005, the FIRS assembly, meeting in Rome, he repeated the final vote on the admission of the Catalan Federation of Skating. In this case,
1260-577: The vote, and forced the FIRS to repeat the vote following the FIRS statute rules. An extraordinary FIRS assembly was held in Rome on November 24, 2005, and again rejected the membership application of the Catalan federation (125–43). After being granted a temporary membership, Catalonia played the World Championship B, at Macau , ( China ), in October 2004, winning it. As a result, Catalonia qualified to play
1296-613: The world, with 216 from Europe, and 52 Mediators. It is noteworthy that CAS had already issued an award suspending an athlete based on the longitudinal profiling of the biological markers before the adoption of the ABP by the IFs [international federations]: in CAS 2009/A/1912 & 1913 [Pechstein], the Panel suspended an Olympic athlete after the biological data showed irregular blood values. According to CAS, those abnormal values were not caused by an error in
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