NEWSLETTER-2019-metin

338 NEWSLETTER 2019 The Turkish Football Federation Dispute Resolution Committee: Its Organization, Jurisdiction and Procedure* Att. Ece Ozsu Introduction The dispute resolution system related to the contracts signed between the clubs, football players, coaches, and agents within foot- ball activities (“Football Contracts”) is duly regulated under Law on Regarding the Establishment and Duty of Turkish Football Federation numbered 5894 (“Law on TFF”), the TFF Statute, and the Regulations on the Dispute Resolution Committee (“Regulations on DRC”), which have been issued by the TFF. In this regard, the national sports jurisdiction mechanism es- tablished within the TFF for the settlement of disputes arising from Football Contracts has two-stages: The parties primarily may apply to the Turkish Football Federation Dispute Resolution Committee as the first instance body, and they may apply to the Turkish Football Federation Arbitration Board (“Arbitration Board”) in order to appeal the decisions of DRC. Within the scope of this article, the DRC, which is the first instance sporting judicial body, is examined. Dispute Resolution Committee and Its Organization The DRC was established within the TFF in 2007 1 for the resolu- tion of sporting financial and administrative disputes 2 , and is one of * Article of April 2019 1 The DRC was established for the first time in 2007, with Law numbered 5719 that amends the former Law on Regarding Establishment and Duty of Turkish Football Federation numbered 3813 ( Ekşi, Nuray : Spor Tahkim Hukuku, Beta Yayınları, Istanbul, 2015, p. 246). 2 Before the establishment of the DRC in 2007, the disputes arising from football contracts were settled by the TFF’s Board of Directors.