Philippine Swimming Inc. v. World Aquatics

At a glance

Parties

Philippine Swimming Inc. (Philippines) v. World Aquatics (WA, formerly Fédération Internationale de Natation, FINA)

Case no.

CAS 2022/A/9351

Forum and rules

Court of Arbitration for Sport, Appeals Arbitration Division; CAS Code (Article R47)

Treaty

Rule C 12.13.3 of the 2021 FINA Constitution (appeal to CAS)

Tribunal

Georgios Petrochilos (President), Michael Hwang, Dolf Segaar

Sector

Sport governance (aquatics)

Outcome

Appeal rejected as inadmissible (8 May 2023): no measure in the December 2022 Decision survived WA's February 2023 Decision, so the appeal had no object.

The dispute

Philippine Swimming Inc. (PSI) is the Philippine national governing body for aquatic sports and a member of World Aquatics (formerly FINA). In letters of 3 and 15 December 2022, FINA said its Bureau had put a Stabilization Committee in place under Rule C 10.6 of the FINA Constitution. The committee was to run PSI's day-to-day operations, amend its constitution and organise new elections, and FINA would no longer recognise PSI's board members as PSI's representatives. PSI appealed to CAS to reverse this "December 2022 Decision", alleging among other things that it had not been heard. On 21–22 February 2023 WA ended the committee's mandate, suspended PSI and appointed an Electoral Committee; PSI appealed that decision separately (CAS 2022/A/9489). WA then asked CAS to close this case on the ground that the December 2022 Decision had been superseded. PSI replied that the non-recognition of its board continued.

Key holdings

1. Under Article R47 of the CAS Code, an appeal must have a live object: a formal decision that is still in force and can be annulled. This is a question of admissibility, not jurisdiction. The Panel's jurisdiction over the December 2022 Decision was not disputed. ¶¶ 60, 64–65
2. PSI's request that WA respect due process in future cases was not tied to an existing decision. The Panel cannot give abstract guidance on possible future decisions. ¶ 61
3. Appointing the Stabilization Committee under Rule C 10.6, together with the functions given to it, was one composite measure. The non-recognition of PSI's board members was a consequence of the committee taking over PSI's daily affairs. It was not a stand-alone sanction under Rule C 12.2(d), which FINA did not invoke. ¶¶ 76–80
4. Ending the committee's mandate necessarily removed that consequence, so WA did not need to 'restore' recognition expressly. WA's continuing refusal to deal with PSI's board follows from the February 2023 suspension of PSI under Article 8.3 of the 2022 WA Constitution. That decision is for the other CAS panel, so this Panel has no jurisdiction over its validity. ¶¶ 83–86, 90
5. No measure in the December 2022 Decision survived the February 2023 Decision. The appeal therefore had no object and was inadmissible. The Panel could not simply 'close' the case as WA asked, because that power belongs to the Division President under Article R37; it ended the case by final award under Article R59. ¶¶ 91–92; operative part
6. The Panel criticised FINA/WA for unclear drafting: the 15 December letter's wording was 'unfortunate', decisions were set out in overlapping letters, and the February 2023 Decision did not address the status of the December 2022 Decision. ¶¶ 13, 69, 82, 84

Procedural history

1. 3 December 2022FINA writes to PSI that the Bureau has confirmed a Stabilization Committee under Rule C 10.6 and that PSI's board members will no longer be recognised as its representatives.
2. 15 December 2022After a Bureau meeting on 12 December 2022, FINA writes again in the same terms and adds that PSI's 'recognition' is 'deemed withdrawn'.
3. 20 December 2022PSI files its Statement of Appeal and an urgent application to stay the decision.
4. 2 February 2023The Deputy President of the Appeals Arbitration Division dismisses the stay application, finding that PSI's membership had not been withdrawn.
5. 6 February 2023The Panel's constitution is completed with the appointment of Georgios Petrochilos as President.
6. 21–22 February 2023WA ends the Stabilization Committee's mandate, suspends PSI and appoints an Electoral Committee. PSI appeals this decision on 13 March 2023 (CAS 2022/A/9489).
7. 15 March 2023The CAS Court Office refuses to consolidate the two appeals because they concern different decisions.
8. 8 May 2023Award: the appeal is rejected as inadmissible.

Tribunal, counsel and experts

Decided by

• Georgios Petrochilos President, CAS Panel — appointed by the institution
• Michael Hwang Co-arbitrator, CAS Panel — appointed by the claimant
• Dolf Segaar Co-arbitrator, CAS Panel — appointed by the institution (appointed by the Deputy Division President in lieu of the Respondent)

Experts

Benito A Cataran (claimant)

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Keywords

• CAS appeal
• Article R47 CAS Code
• admissibility
• mootness
• stabilization committee
• FINA Constitution Rule C 10.6
• withdrawal of recognition
• suspension of member federation
• national federation governance
• electoral committee
• swimming
• World Aquatics
• FINA
• Philippines
• Article R37 CAS Code
• good governance

Summary generated with AI from the published documents — refer to the award for the authoritative text.