The Abu Dhabi CAS Alternative Hearing Centre has signed a cooperation agreement with the Emirates Sports Arbitration Center to develop the sports dispute resolution mechanisms and promote the dissemination of the arbitration culture, in addition to implementing the decisions rendered by either centre, training and qualifying sports arbitrators at the local and international levels, and qualifying lawyers to handle sports-related disputes.

The agreement comes in a context marked by a leading role played by both parties in the fields of sports arbitration, as Abu Dhabi CAS Alternative Hearing Centre within the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department hosts the hearings that the CAS decides to hold in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi pursuant to the agreement concluded between the ADJD and the CAS in 2012, while the Emirates Sports Arbitration Center, which was established under Federal Law No. 16 of 2016, is exclusively competent to arbitrate all sports disputes, in particular those related to final decisions issued by the competent bodies and the Olympic Committee, in accordance with their statutes, disciplinary decisions and appealable decisions issued by the National Anti-Doping Committee.

In this regard, His Excellency Youssef Saeed Al Abri, Undersecretary of Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, said that the agreement comes in support of the endeavour to develop the work at the CAS Alternative Hearing Centre, so as to strengthen its role and activities and achieve the ambition of making Abu Dhabi a regional and international hub for sports arbitration, in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, to achieve leadership and excellence in providing all services in accordance with the best international standards.

The cooperation agreement aims to develop the mechanism for settling local sports disputes that have an international component, while working on organising specialised workshops in this field and introducing the services provided in the arbitration centres with facilitated procedures in terms of registering sports cases and holding hearings to reach amicable solutions, in addition to providing logistical support for a number of activities and events related to the field of arbitration, Mr. Al Abri explained.

Mr. Ahmad Ibrahim Al Marzouqi, Executive Director of the Administrative Support Sector at the ADJD, stressed the importance of building a stronger partnership with the relevant authorities in the field of sports arbitration, so as to contribute to the dissemination of the culture of arbitration and to encourage the use of the services available in the UAE, where all the necessary capacities and means of support are available to hold hearings for the settlement of international, regional and local sports disputes.

For his part, His Excellency Dirar Belhoul Al Falasi, Vice President of the UAE Sports Arbitration Centre, noted the importance of creating partnerships with entities connected with sports arbitration, whether at the national level or at the Arab and international levels, in order to serve the cause of UAE sport in all its aspects, stressing the leading role played in this regard by the Center and the Judicial Department. This agreement helps to achieve the desired integration through joint bilateral coordination to settle various sports disputes, he added.

Mr. Dirar Belhoul also praised the efforts made by the ADJD and the initiatives brought forward to promote the name of the UAE as a leading centre accredited by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which contributes to consolidating the country's standing, reputation and honourable achievements at all levels.

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