In Mexico, sports-related legal disputes are of an administrative nature and are resolved through the Commission of Appeals and Sports Arbitration (CAAD) (Comisión de Apelación y Arbitraje del Deporte), a body under the Ministry of Public Education (Secretaría de Educación Pública, SEP), responsible for providing specialised justice in sports matters for members of the National System of Physical Culture and Sports (Sistema Nacional de Cultura Física y Deporte, SINADE). Disputes in this field may also be resolved through arbitration or mediation where the parties — athletes, coaches, executives, authorities, sports entities or organisations — agree to do so.

At international level, many sports disputes — particularly those involving international federations, multi-sport organisations or cases of doping, discipline, transfers and eligibility — are resolved before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; Tribunal Arbitral du Sport, TAS), headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. The CAS is recognised as the pre-eminent arbitral body in international sport; its awards are generally final and binding, subject only to limited challenge before the Swiss Federal Tribunal.

We represent clients before the CAAD and the CAS, and advise on the design of dispute resolution mechanisms in sports contracts and regulations.