History was made at ɫƵ as it played host to a special event for the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) – its first ever requested training workshop to take place outside of headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Members of CAS – an international body established to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration – were welcomed to campus for the event, hosted by UL’s School of Law and led by Dr Laura Donnellan, Associate Professor at the School of Law and a leading international expert in sport and the law.
As the first university in Ireland to offer a module on the intersection between sport and law, more than 20 years ago, UL is recognised as the forerunner in the research and teaching of Sports Law. This, added to the cultural and social importance of sport to UL and, more broadly, Limerick, made the University a natural choice to host the milestone event.
Dr Donnellan explained: “Ireland’s position in the world of sporting disputes was recently bolstered by the decision of the Union des Associations Européennes de Football (UEFA) to designate Dublin as an alternative seat of arbitration to CAS hearings in matters relating to UEFA’s Authorisation Rules.
“UL as Ireland's Sporting Campus, and with its expertise in Sports Law, has established itself as an internationally recognised institution for both sports and law.”
The role of Dr Donnellan – Director of the Sports Law, Governance and Practice Research Cluster in the School of Law, and who has been actively researching the intersection between sport and the law for over 20 years – was pivotal in bringing the CAS event to the Castletroy campus.
UL’s links with CAS were also fostered by the appointment of two Adjunct Professors of Practice in International Commercial Arbitration – Klaus Reichert SC and Cian P Kelly BL, both of whom are CAS arbitrators and who were instrumental in bringing the CAS to UL.
With preparations already in place for UL to host CAS for another event in 2026, the School of Law is looking forward to building on the momentum of this historic event.
“We are currently arranging a date for Autumn/Winter 2026. Next year's event will be included in the CAS calendar of events, and it is envisaged that the workshop will run in conjunction with a student event and relevant stakeholder event,” said Dr Donnellan.