On 1 August 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered its judgment in Case C-600/23 Royal Football Club Seraing1, in which the Belgian Supreme General Court had made a reference for a preliminary ruling. The question was whether the principle of res judicata could prevent the courts of the EU Member States from examining in national proceedings a case decided by an arbitral award of the International Court of Arbitration for Sport, the Swiss CAS, and confirmed by a Swiss court.
In its judgment, the Court of Justice ruled that individuals and companies must have the right to have a national court of a Member State review whether an arbitration award enforced in the EU is contrary to fundamental rules of EU law. Sports clubs and athletes established in the European Union therefore have the right to effective judicial review of a CAS arbitration award in an EU Member State. In the case of suspected infringements of EU competition or free movement rules, the private party must be able to seek a declaration of infringement of EU rules, an order for compensation for the damage caused by the infringement and an injunction to stop the infringing activity in order to exercise his or her effective legal remedy.
The Court of Justice also held that the national court is under an obligation to disapply of its own motion national provisions or the rules of sports federations which would be an obstacle to the exercise of effective private judicial protection. National provisions providing for the broad legal effect of an arbitral award by an international arbitral tribunal are contrary to EU law because, if applied, they would not enable private parties to obtain effective review of the legality of arbitral awards by national courts.
In many sports, international federations oblige athletes and clubs to settle their disputes exclusively through arbitration. In this situation, the use of arbitration affects the rights and freedoms of athletes, clubs and, more broadly, of all persons engaged in professional sport or related economic activities, which are protected by fundamental EU legal rules. The Court of Justice stressed that, in order to guarantee effective judicial protection, national courts in the Member States must be able, at the request of individuals or companies, or even ex officio, to carry out a thorough examination of the compatibility of CAS arbitration awards with the fundamental rules of Union law. The same interpretation should apply to any arbitral award which similarly affects the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed to companies and individuals engaged in economic activities in the EU.
