On 10 April 2019, Llinks Partner Attorney Wu Wei was invited to attend the seminar titled "Leading Developments in International Sports Arbitration with a Chinese Twist". The seminar was jointly held by Beijing Arbitration Commission (Beijing International Arbitration Center, hereinafter "BAC/BIAC") and JAMS Mediation, Arbitration and ADR Services (hereinafter "JAMS"), and invited guest speakers including Attorney Wu Wei, together with Mr. Jeffrey Benz the BAC/JAMS/CAS Arbitrator, Mr. James Kitching the Managing Partner of Kitching Sports and former general counsel of Asian Football Confederation. The seminar attracted more than sixty audience including the organizing committee members of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, organizing committee members of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, scholars from China Association for Sports Law, members of professional sports institutions and enterprise seniors in the expertise of sports.
As one of the few Chinese arbitrators of Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) who have participated in the Olympics AD-hoc Division, Attorney Wu delivered his speech as the starting speaker of the keynote section, themed "Sports Arbitration Issues Affecting Football and Basketball in China". With the approach of Chinese sports industry, the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics as well as the Hangzhou Asian Games, all fields of sports in China have accelerated the progress of reform, which requires all professionals in sports law to pay enough attention to the trend of reform, understand the general background of international sports, so as to realize their individual value in institutional design, mediation, and dispute resolution etc. During the 15 minutes' speech, Attorney Wu illustrated both the international mechanism of dispute resolution in sports with the heated "Contact Case" in the CBA League and the monumental "Chinese Club Discrimination Case" in the AFC League. Under the innovation of such mechanisms, Attorney Wu further proposed his idea in future establishment of a uniform dispute resolution institution in China. The audience are also presented with a brief introduction to recent hot topics in Chinese football reform, such as the naturalization policy of foreign players, contract disputes of youth players and verification of dual contracts.
Mr. Jeffrey Benz and Mr. James Kitching followed with their speeches titled "Update on Anti-Doping Issues, E-Sports and Sports IP", and "An Update on Leading Football Cases and Rules". Both speeches provided pioneering views of the industry, thanks to the wealth of experience of both speakers in their multiple roles of barrister, attorney, mediator and arbitrator. As Mr. Ranse Howell has summarized in his closing remarks, the perspective presented through this seminar under the joint effort of domestic and international lawyers, will help broadening the horizon of Chinese sport professionals, and finally become a significant guidance to global opportunities.
