China's Sports Arbitration System Finally In Place!

China's sports arbitration system was previously set out in Article 32 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Physical Culture and Sports (the "Sports Law", as amended in 2016); however, it was never put into practice because the term was too principled in nature. With China hosting more major international sporting events, such as the Olympic Games and the IAAF World Championships in Athletics, there is an urgent need for a sound arbitration system to hear, review, and settle the ever-increasing number of disputes in this field.

Following this trend, the fast-tracked revision to the Sports Law commenced about a year ago to establish a more specified, implementable sports arbitration system in China. On June 24, 2022, the Law of the People's Republic of China on Physical Culture and Sports (2022 Revision) (the "revised Sports Law was finally enacted, following prior release of an initial revision draft on October 21, 2021 (the "First Revision Draft and a