The international Sports Law Arbitration Moot (SLAM) is a world class competition, with the aim to promote greater knowledge of the values and rules of international sports arbitration, the go to dispute resolution mechanism in the sector.
SLAM provides students from around the world the opportunity to:
The competition is open to all current students.
SLAM is organised by LawInSport, the world’s leading sports law knowledge hub and global community.
The cases for each round will be based on real world scenarios and the registered teams will need to familiarise themselves with CAS case law and sport rules that may be relevant to their arguments. Teams will also be arguing these real-world disputes at the hallowed halls of the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The written submissions in the preliminary round will be evaluated by a selected panel of lawyers and CAS arbitrators. The successful teams will go through to regional rounds (see below for the regional classification) where the focus of the assessment will be on oral advocacy.
The four winners of the regional rounds will progress to the semi-finals of the competition. At each stage of the competition, the party for the team asked to advocate will be assigned randomly, which may mean acting for the same party more than once.
In cooperation with CAS, the competition will use the prevailing Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS/TAS) Code of Sports-related Arbitration (CAS Code).
To register a team, please click here.
The Semi-Finals and Finals will be held in person at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Lausanne, Switzerland.
We will also be conducting training for written submissions and oral arguments for all participants, the dates for which shall be confirmed in due course.
Register your team here.
Participants will be divided into the following regional groups to ensure equality of opportunity to students across the world:
The entry fee per team is £100.
Financial assistance - a team can qualify for financial assistance to enter the competition please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to see if you are eligible for financial support. The forms of financial assistance that will be provided are waiver of the costs of the entry fee (whether in part or in full) or a reasonable contribution towards the cost of travelling (limited to flights/trains and accommodation) to the in-person semi-finals and finals of the competition for teams that qualify for these stages limited to an amount of £500 per team.
Student status - Students cannot enter if they have been licensed to practice law in any jurisdiction at the time of registration. Students must be registered as a student (full or part time) in an accredited institution of higher learning at the time of registration.
Teams consist of two team members per team. Multiple teams from a single university can register for the competition.
To register your team, click here.
The winning team will receive a prize of £1,500 and the runners-up a prize of £1,000. All four finalists from the two teams will also receive tickets to LawInSport’s Annual Conference or Football Law Conference.
SLAM is a not-for-profit competition with the entry fees being used to fund the administrative and organisational costs (including travel assistance for finalists if needed) as well as the education of participants.
SLAM has been designed to make sports arbitration more inclusive and diverse, so that no matter where you are located or your financial circumstances you will be able to participate.
SLAM was founded in 2019 by SportLex - Sports Law Institute (Ljubljana, Slovenia) and supported by LawInSport since its conception. SLAM has been a LawInSport event since 2021.
Blaz Tomazin Bolcar, founder of SportLaw and co-founder of SLAM said: “It was great to see students competing in the SLAM 2022 event with a true passion for sports law. This is the very essence of the competition. I am happy to see SLAM developing into one of the best law moot competitions in the world. ”
Sean Cottrell, Co-Founder of LawInSport, added: “Last year’s competition was a privilege to organise and host. We were able to give students from around the world the opportunity to develop and showcase their ability in front of the world’s leading advocates and CAS arbitrators. This competition is a showcase for the next generation of lawyers with an interest in law in sport no matter where they are from or where they are studying.
The CAS arbitrators commented on the high quality of advocacy and we are looking forward to finding more brilliant students in this year’s competition.
I would encourage students to apply to be part of this year's competition as this truly is a rare and valuable opportunity to learn and develop relationships in the industry.”
Last year's SLAM was a huge success with:
To find out more information on how to participate and support this competition, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
If you are a CAS Arbitrator and would be interested in supporting this competition please complete the following registration form. We wish to ensure that we have enough Arbitrators to evaluate the written submissions, and we will need to fill at least 45 oral argument arbitrator positions.
The registration form seeks your interest in any of the phases of SLAM and your availability.
To register a team, please click here.
The 3rd SLAM Semi-Finals and Grand Final took place in person on the 22 April 2022 at the Royal Society of Medicine, London (UK). The finals judges were:
All teams that entered had the opportunity to attend training from experienced arbitrators and advocates on:
All quarter final teams received Plus Membership to LawInSport for 1 Year.
The 2nd placed team received the above + £1,000 prize money + tickets to LawInSport's Annual Conference or Foobtall Law Conference.
The winners of SLAM received £1,500 prize money + tickets to LawInSport's Annual Conference or Foobtall Law Conference.
All the judges have extensive experience as either arbitrators at the Court of Arbitration for Sport and other arbitral bodies, or they are experienced advocates in sports dispute resolution and at CAS. The judges from the quarter-final rounds onwards are all experienced CAS arbitrators.
We would like to thank our judges for their overwhelming support and for giving-up their time freely to help the next generation of sports lawyers realise their potential.
BPP University
Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA)
Chanakya National Law University
City Law School
Dublin City University
Edge Hill University
Erasmus University Rotterdam
University of Ljubljana
Ghent University
Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar
Hugh Wooding Law School
International University of Monaco
ISDE
Kenyatta University
King's College London
Leiden University
Moi University-Kenya
National law University Assam
Nelson Mandela University
O. P. Jindal Global University
Pepperdine School of Law
*Russian State University of Justice
SSBM Geneva
St. Petersburg State University
Stockholm university
The University of Melbourne
University of York
Universidad Europea
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)
Universitatea din Bucuresti
University of Cambridge
University of Dar Es Salaam
University of Delhi
University of International Business and Economics
University of Law
University of Lleida
University of Nigeria
University of Oxford
University of Rijeka
University of South Africa
University of the Witwatersrand
University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law
University of Zurich
West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences
*The Russian State University of Justice qualified for the quarter-finals, however, due to the unprecedented prevailing circumstances relating to the invasion of Ukraine, we regret that the team was not able to progress to the quarter-finals.
If you would like to be a supporter of the Sports Law Arbitration Moot (SLAM) please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Faculty of Law in Ljubljana
O.P. Jindal Global University
BPP University
Hugh Wooding Law School
University of Cambridge
Kenyatta University
Leiden University
City University
* Note The Russian State University of Justice qualified for the quarter-finals, however, due to the unprecedented prevailing circumstances relating to the invasion of Ukraine, we regret that the team was not able to progress to the quarter-finals.
O.P. Jindal Global University
BPP University
Erasmus University/Leiden University
City University
BPP University
City University (Winners)
Laura Abrahamson, Mediator, Arbitrator and Referee/Special Master, JAMS
Patrice Brunet, Founder and Managing Director of Patrice Brunet Avocats
Espen Auberg, Partner, Advokatfirmaet Nova DA
David Benck, Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Hibbett Sports
Leanne O'Leary, Senior Lecturer in Law, Edge Hill University
Christopher L. Campbell, Senior Counsel, Tyson & Mendes and Olympic Medallist
Janie Soublière , Principal, Soubliere Sport Law
Steve Bainbridge, Partner, Squire Patton Boggs
Yoshihisa Hayakawa , Professor of Law, Rikkyo University & Partner, Uryu & Itoga
Emin ÖZKURT , Managing Partner, Ozkurt Law Office
Ricardo de Buen, Managing Partner, De Buen Law
Jan Räker, Senior General Counsel, VfB Stuttgart
The Rt. Hon. Lord Dyson
39 Essex Chambers - former Justice of the Supreme Court in 2010 and Master of the Rolls (President of the Court of Appeal in England and Wales, and Head of Civil Justice)
Raphaëlle Favre Schnyder
Attorney at law, Partner - Barandun & Alternate Judge at Appellate Court of Valais/Wallis
Mark Hovell
Head of Sport & Partner, Mills & Reeve
Klaus Reichert SC
Barrister (Senior Counsel), Brick Court Chambers
SLAM is organised by:
All organisers and judges give up their time freely and do not receive any financial remmuneration from their roles in the Sports Law Arbitration Moot (SLAM).
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