Part 4: Legal Considerations and Safe Sport
An independent body to oversee the implementation of the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS) and ensure the fair, transparent and effective management of reported cases of maltreatment has been created and will soon be a mandatory element of the federal sport system, and possibly provincial/territorial and local levels of sport. Given this, understanding the legal aspects of implementation, dispute resolution, and enforcement is critical for students, researchers, professionals and other stakeholders within the Canadian sport system.
Four phases of dealing with a complaint by this body have been identified:
Phase 1 – jurisdiction
Phase 2 – investigation
Phase 3 – dispute resolution
Phase 4 – enforcement
The following five chapters within Part 4: Legal Considerations and Safe Sport, examine key issues of each phase.
- Chapter 6 on jurisdiction examines the authority of the body to act. Its jurisdiction stems from the UCCMS and extends beyond the scope of authority of the federally funded sport organizations that will be adopting the UCCMS. Some form of contractual relationship will have to be established to ensure that the body has appropriate authority to act. This becomes more complex as provincial, territorial, and local use is considered.
- Chapter 7 on investigation discusses the importance of incorporating principles of procedural fairness in all stages of an investigation and explore the intersection of reporting and investigative processes with parallel child protection systems under provincial and criminal laws.
- Chapter 8 and Chapter 9 on dispute resolution focus on the use of arbitration to resolve disputes arising from investigations. Chapter 8 will examine institutional issues, such as having diverse and appropriately trained adjudicators and a system of precedent. Chapter 9 explores the procedural and substantive elements of the process, such as an adjudicator’s scope of authority, matters of confidentiality and privacy, and principles of interpretation.
- Chapter 10 on enforcement examines how sanctions can be enforced across different types and levels of sport, and how an arbitration decision involving the UCCMS could be challenged in court.
Abbreviations and Acronyms
| CAC | Coaching Association of Canada |
| CADP | Canadian Anti-Doping Program |
| CAS | Court of Arbitration for Sport |
| CCES | Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport |
| COC | Canadian Olympic Committee |
| ECHR | European Court of Human Rights |
| FEI | International Equestrian Federation |
| FIN | Italian Swimming Federation |
| FINA | International Swimming Federation |
| FIPPA | Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act |
| HRTO | Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario |
| ICAS | International Council of Arbitration in Sport |
| IF | International Sport Federation |
| IOC | International Olympic Committee |
| IPC | International Paralympic Committee |
| ISU | International Skating Union |
| ITFs | International Tennis Federation |
| ITP | Idenpendent Third Party |
| JAMS | Judicial Arbitration Management Service |
| LGBTQIA | Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, transexual, transgender, questioning, queer, intersex, asexual |
| NGBs | National Sport Governing Bodies |
| NIM | National Independent Mechanism |
| NSO | National Sport Organization |
| NSP | National Safeguarding Panel |
| NTC | National Team Committee |
| OLTFC | Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club |
| PIPEDA | Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act |
| PTSOs | Provincial/Territorial Sport Organizations |
| SDRCC | Sport Dispute Reolution Centre of Canada |
| SFT | Swiss Federal Tribunal |
| U.K. | United Kingdom |
| U.S. | United States |
| UCCMS | Universial Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport |
| UEFA | The Union of European Football Associations |
| USOPC | United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee |
| WADA | World Anti-Doping Agency |
