The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the ultimate authority for resolving sports-related disputes through arbitration or mediation, has ruled that it has no jurisdiction over the appeal launched by the Bulgarian Chess Federation against FIDE’s decision to reject its membership application.
In 2016, the Bulgarian Chess Federation was suspended from FIDE and the ECU following corruption allegations, which were confirmed in an investigation conducted by the FIDE Ethics Commission.
In October 2023, both the Bulgarian Chess Federation 2022 (BCF 2022) and the Bulgarian Sports Chess Federation (BCSF), created following the unification process in Bulgarian chess guided by FIDE and ECU, applied for membership in the International Chess Federation (FIDE).
The FIDE Council rejected the BCF 2022 application on December 14, 2023. The decision was made on the grounds that the organization didn’t participate in the unification process within the Bulgarian Chess Federation, coordinated by FIDE and the ECU. At the same time, it was decided that the BSCF’s application would be moved forward to the General Assembly (GA) for a decision. On December 17, 2023, the FIDE GA decided to admit BSCF as a FIDE member for Bulgaria.
In January 2024, BCF 2022 appealed the GA decision to admit BSCF as a FIDE member for Bulgaria.
On July 10, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that it does not have jurisdiction to entertain the appeal filed by BCF 2022, which is a non-member, against the admission of BSCF as a FIDE member for Bulgaria. According to the court, such a decision does not fall within the material scope of Article 35 of the FIDE Charter. Additionally, the court emphasized that BCF 2022 failed to name BSCF as a mandatory passive joiner to the appeal.
About Court of Arbitration for Sport
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is an institution independent of any sports organization which provides for services in order to facilitate the settlement of sports-related disputes through arbitration or mediation by means of procedural rules adapted to the specific needs of the sports world.
The CAS was created in 1984 and is placed under the administrative and financial authority of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS).
The CAS has nearly 300 arbitrators from 87 countries, chosen for their specialist knowledge of arbitration and sports law. Around 300 cases are registered by the CAS every year.
Official website: tas-cas.org/