Judo lawyer in Belgium
Lawyers for judoka, clubs and judo federations
Judo in Belgium is organised on several levels. Judo Vlaanderen and the Ligue Francophone de Judo run club activity and competition in their own community. The Koninklijke Belgische Judobond acts as the national federation and is the counterpart of the International Judo Federation, the European Judo Union and the Belgian Olympic Committee. Each level has its own regulations, its own bodies and its own deadlines.
We assist judoka, clubs, coaches and organisers in the files that follow from that structure: selection for a European Championship, a World Championship or the Olympic Games, disciplinary cases, doping, contracts and liability. We also handle international files, from proceedings before an international federation to arbitration before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne. Everest has offices in Ghent, Brussels, Antwerp and Hasselt.
What we do in judo
These are the files that reach our desk most often.
Selection for European, World and Olympic events
We test the selection criteria against the rules of the federation and against the equal treatment of the candidates. We draft the appeal, collect the competition results and run the procedure within the deadline that counts for the tournament.
Elite athlete status and funding
Status as an elite athlete, a place in a training programme or a grant depends on criteria set by the public authorities and the federation. We read those criteria closely, challenge a refusal and guide the appeal against the decision.
Disciplinary files and sanctions
A complaint about conduct, an incident on the mat or a report of transgressive behaviour leads to a disciplinary procedure. We defend judoka and coaches before the disciplinary bodies and protect the right of defence and the access to the file.
Doping and whereabouts
A missed test, an error in the whereabouts data or an adverse analytical finding has serious consequences. We examine the analysis, the notification and the deadlines, and we present the defence against the sanction before the competent body.
Injury in the dojo
After an injury in training or in competition, the question is who bears the liability: the club, the coach, the organiser or the insurer. We assess the liability, the policy taken out by the federation and the compensation for the damage.
Contracts, payments and sponsorship
We draft and negotiate agreements: coaching contracts, sponsorship deals, image and name rights, bonuses and expense allowances. We look at the term, the notice period, the exclusivity and the tax and social consequences for the judoka.
How a judo lawyer in Belgium runs your file
Who decides
A file starts before the competent body of your federation. An appeal follows, in Belgium often before the Belgian Court of Arbitration for Sport. An international file ends before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.
The deadlines
The deadlines are short. An internal appeal sometimes runs for a few days only. An appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport normally runs for twenty-one days, unless the applicable rules say otherwise. A late appeal is inadmissible.
What you do first
Keep every letter, every e-mail and every decision, with the date you received it. Collect the selection rules, the results and the correspondence with the federation. Sign nothing and contact us before the deadline expires.
Selection files and the Olympic ranking
In judo a place at a major event depends on points gathered over a long qualification period.
Read the criteria before the season
Selection criteria must be published, clear, and applied in the same way to every candidate. Most disputes start because a criterion changed during the qualification period, or because it was read differently for two athletes. We go through the criteria at the start of the season, so that a later objection rests on something written rather than on a recollection.
Acting in time
A selection decision often comes very late, close to the event itself. The appeal deadline is then counted in days. We prepare the file in advance where a dispute is likely, and we ask for interim relief when the event would otherwise pass before any body has ruled on the merits.
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