Landgericht Frankfurt, Az. 2-06 O 457/19, Behrens and Tillmann v. Deutscher Volleyball-Verband e.V. (DVV), 7 October 2020

The Landgericht (District Court) Frankfurt has written a further chapter in the widely debated issue of the acceptance of arbitration clauses in sports-related disputes. The decision commented here is notable as it is the first judgement by a German court in this respect in the aftermath of the so-called ‘Pechstein saga’. In its decision, the District Court took into consideration the decision Mutu and Pechstein v. Switzerland of the European Court of Human Rights. The District Court ultimately found that both athletes had been forced to accept the arbitration clauses at issue, which were therefore considered invalid. This reasoning differs from the decision of the Bundesgerichtshof (German Federal Court of Justice) in Pechstein, which held that the validity of arbitration clauses contained in athletes’ agreements is subject to a balancing process of the competing interests involved. The decision of the District Court raises one important question in particular: what is the legal consequence of the forced nature of arbitration agreements in sports?