Rumor has
it that the CSA is meeting on Friday to determine what to do should the
ASA membership adopt a proposal to remove Article 32 from their bylaws.
For those who do not have the ASA bylaws memorized Article 32 reads:
Article 32 Administration of
Disputes
A
member’s affiliates, registrants, leagues, clubs, players,
referees or officials shall not refer disputes with the Association or
any other soccer association to a court of law but shall be required to
submit any disagreements to the jurisdiction of the Association.
This particular piece of the bylaws has garnered a fair bit of
attention within the soccer community and unfortunately it has also
been noticed by the Alberta Court of Appeals who recently stated:
16]
Everyone in Canada has a constitutional right of access to Her
Majesty's courts as a litigant or as a witness. The punishment
impending here (and imposed against the other litigants in the parallel
proceedings) is for doing just that. Public policy dictates weighing
that when considering the balance of convenience.
The CSA is in a bit of a quandry, as their bylaws state:
15. MEMBERS’
OBLIGATIONS
15.1 A Member of
The CSA has the following obligations:
f) to adopt a statutory clause
specifying that any dispute requiring arbitration involving itself or
one of its members and relating to the By-laws, regulations, directives
and decisions of FIFA, CONCACAF, The CSA or the Leagues shall come
solely under the jurisdiction
of the appropriate Arbitration Tribunal of FIFA, CONCACAF, The CSA, or
Association Members and that any recourse to Ordinary Courts is
prohibited;
On April 16th what should the CSA do if the ASA removes Article 32 from
their bylaws?
Canadians have a tendency to be naval gazers. So in keeping with that
trait lets take a look at the bylaws of other members of the CSA and
see what they say.
| BC
Soccer Association |
BCSA
Bylaws:
Article 15 1)
BCSA
supports the principles of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
and is committed to the techniques of mediation and arbitration as
effective ways to resolve disputes and to avoid the uncertainty and
cost associated.
From their Discipline
Policy and Procedures:
Rule
11 - Discipline
g) In case
of disputes between players, teams,
districts, leagues, or affiliated associations, legal proceedings shall
be taken only as a last resort, and then only with the consent of the
Board.
and in case you thought the left coast was all supportive of the legal
system:
Rule 11 -
Discipline:
r) No
barrister or solicitor shall represent any such player, team,
district, league or affiliated association at the hearing of any
misconduct, protest, complaint or appeal, unless;
i) As an
executive officer of the team, district, league or affiliated
association concerned and has been for a period of three months
immediately preceding the lodgment of the misconduct, protest,
complaint or appeal,
ii) And
whose name appears on the affiliation form of such team,
district, league or affiliated association as an executive officer,
iii) And, a
person so identified, may only represent |
| Saskatchewan
Soccer
Association |
Nothing in their
bylaws or policies mention that disputes can not be taken to an
ordinary court. |
| Manitoba
Soccer
Association |
MSA
Bylaws:
Article 9: RENEWAL AND MEMBERSHIP STATUS
6) No Member
or any person associated with a Member shall refer
disputes with the Association, its members or other Provincial
Associations to a court of law, but shall be required to submit any
disagreements to the jurisdiction of the Association or, upon appeal,
to the Canadian Soccer Association. |
| Ontario
Soccer
Association |
The OSA has nothing
in their constitution
that prevents bringing disputes to the ordinary courts:
Section 12.0 Dispute
Resolution of the OSA Policy Manual has this to say:
1.3 As the
purpose of this Policy is to promote alternatives to litigation, OSA
may refuse to hear a dispute, or discontinue hearing a dispute that has
already commenced, if the party or parties engage in litigation, or
send a lawyer's letter threatening litigation, that is either directly
or indirectly related to the matter in dispute. |
| Quebec
Soccer
Federation |
The bylaws
are in french which I do not speak but:
Article 7 -
Obligations
7.4 Dans un
cas de conflit entre les membres ou entre un membre et la
Fédération, des procédures judiciaires
ne peuvent être entreprises qu'en dernier ressort et ce,
seulement si tous les recours normaux prévus dans les
règlements généraux et/ou les
règlements de discipline de la
Fédération ont été
épuisés. Avant d'engager des
procédures judiciaires, le membre doit en aviser la
Fédération ou l'ACS par courrier
recommandé.
which according to Google translate is as follows:
In
case of
conflict between
members or
between members
and the
Federation, procedures
Justice can
not be undertaken
as a last resort
and only if
all appeals normally
provided in the
bylaws and /
or disciplinary
regulations of
the Federation been
exhausted. Before
initiating legal
proceedings, the
member must notify
the Federation
or ACS
by mail. |
| Soccer
New Brunswick |
Bylaws
or Code
of Conduct documents do not prevent use of ordinary courts |
| Soccer Nova
Scotia |
Bylaws:
Article 6
Membership
d) A
District Association or League in Membership or any Association or
League in Membership’s affiliates, registrants, leagues,
clubs, players, referees or officials shall not refer disputes with the
Association or any other National Association to a court of law, but
shall be required to submit any disagreements to the jurisdiction of
the Association. |
| PEI
Soccer Association |
Nothing in the Constitution
or policies and procedures manual mention that disputes can
not be taken to an
ordinary court. |
| Newfoundland and
Labrador Soccer Association |
Nothing in the Constitution
& Bylaws or Code
of Conduct mention that disputes can not be taken to an
ordinary court.
However, the bylaws had a very nice little rule:
26.3 No such
regulations may violate an individual’s rights or freedoms
except as may be required to protect the rights and freedoms of any
other individual and to ensure the stability of the basic structure of
the game. |
| NWT Soccer
Association |
Bylaws
nor Dispute
Resolution Policy documents do not mention that disputes can
not be taken to an ordinary court of law. |
| Yukon |
Could not find
bylaws. |
Hmmm .... looks like there is some fuzz in that naval.
Surprisingly few of
the CSA members actually mention that it is against their bylaws to
take a dispute to ordinary courts.
So if the CSA decides to make a statement regarding the ASA
memberships' attempt to remove Article 32 from their bylaws I would
suggest they first go to Wikipedia and look up this word.
I wonder what else is on the agenda?
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