On 1 November 2019, Llinks Partner Mr. David Wu was invited to Beijing for the Seminar themed "Sports Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution in China: A perfect match", held by Beijing Arbitration Commission/Beijing International Arbitration Center (hereinafter "BAC/BIAC") and Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, Inc.(hereinafter "JAMS"). Present at the seminar included Mr. Li Zhiyuan, Deputy Director of Department of Political Affairs and Law, General Administration for Sport; Ms. Wu Yujia, Counsel at Legal department of the Winter Olympic Games Committee of China; Mr. Jeffrey Benz, Arbitrator of BAC/BIAC, JAMS and Court of Arbitration for sports; Mr. Mr. Tao Jingzhou, BAC arbitrator etc. The seminar also attracted about eighty sports law practitioners including experts from Winter Olympic Games Committee of China, scholars in anti-doping and a number of sports lawyers from around the world.
Mr. Chen Fuyong, deputy secretary general of BAC/BIAC expressed his appreciation to all the attenders, and invited Mr. Li Zhiyuan, Deputy Director of Department of Political Affairs and Law, General Administration for Sport for his keynote speech. As the Chinese sports industry steps into the new era of marketization and commercialization, China is facing a period of most disputes in sports. By delivering the speech, Mr. Li put forward his expectations on all sports law practitioners for them to actively explore the possibilities of coordination between commercial arbitration institutions and sports associations for dispute resolution, in order to provide remarkable suggestions to the progressive reform of Chinese sports industry.
David was invited as moderator of the first section of the seminar, "Licensing, Sponsorship and Construction Issues, Negotiation, and Disputes Related to Sports Events". He analyzed on hot topics including legal issues in construction of stadiums and infrastructure, as well as commercial licensing and sponsorship disputes along the preparation of major sports events. Mr. Steve Smith, Managing Partner of Bryan Cave Leighton Pasner and Ms. Wu Yujia, Counsel at Legal department of the Winter Olympic Games Committee of China took part in the discussion from both the perspective of China and the United States, presenting their views on the measures for risk prevention and systematic perfection in the expertise of sports.
In the following section, Mr. Jeffrey Benz hosted an in-depth communication with Mr. Tao Jingzhou and other Chinese sports law practitioners regarding confederation disciplinary regulations as well as corresponding procedural rights protection. As the seminar gets under way, the participants reached a consensus to combine Chinese and foreign experience so as to contribute to Chinese sports industry with joint efforts. The seminar successfully furthered the impact of international dispute resolution institutions such as BIAC and JAMS, and introduced new possibilities for a more diversified system of Chinese dispute resolution for sports.
