ECHR examines two applications that could have significant consequences for Turkey

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has published a “press release” regarding the decisions it will announce in the coming days and the cases on its review agenda. The European Court of Human Rights’ (ECHR) decisions regarding sports and contract disputes offer important insights in the context of individual rights and the practice of a profession. In this article, I evaluate the decisions expected to be announced in January 2026 from my own perspective and share my observations regarding the pursuit of rights by athletes and professionals.

Individual Rights and Sports Law: A Personal Assessment on ECHR Decisions

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has added to its agenda two applications that touch upon the structural problems of sports law and could have significant consequences for Turkey. The files in question center on questions regarding the independence, impartiality, and subjection to effective judicial review of arbitration mechanisms within sports federations.

The first application concerns a lawsuit filed by a professional beach volleyball referee against the evaluation and assignment processes within the federation. The applicant claims that sports arbitration bodies lack structural independence, that judicial review remains ineffective, and that this situation violates their right to practice their profession and their right to respect for private life. In this file, the ECHR is expected to evaluate whether mandatory arbitration mechanisms in the field of sports meet the “independent and impartial tribunal” criteria within the scope of Article 6 of the Convention.

The second application concerns the contract termination process of a professional football player. Following the rejection of the application made before the Turkish Football Federation Arbitration Board, the applicant claimed that the right to a fair trial and the right to respect for private life were violated due to both the lack of reasoning in the decision and the lack of effective judicial review. Regarding this file, the ECHR is expected to examine to what extent sports federations fulfill the obligation of legal certainty, proportionality, and justification in their decision-making processes.

Both applications have the potential to re-evaluate the mandatory arbitration–judicial review relationship, which has long been debated in sports law, on the axis of the individual’s fundamental rights and freedoms. The decisions to be rendered by the ECHR will set a precedent not only in terms of national practices but also in terms of the structural models adopted in the resolution of sports disputes across Europe. 

News Source: 12punto