No forum beyond the EU Charter

RFC Seraing and the constitutional reordering of sports arbitration

Abstract

This paper critically explores the implications of the CJEU judgment in RFC Seraing v. FIFA (C‑600/23), an original judicial precedent reconfiguring the relationship between arbitral autonomy and the primacy of EU constitutional law. By imposing on national courts the investigation into arbitral awards for consistency with fundamental Charter rights, the judgment flouts the long assumptions about arbitral finality particularly when translated into the arena of sports governance. The paper explores both the normative insights and the structural challenges evoked by the line of reasoning of the CJEU on the assumption it relies on the contested ideal type of the “genuine consent” and discusses the little it says on the systemic role assigned to arbitration. While the ruling stabilises judicial responsibility and the ambit of European union law, it paves the way to legal fragmentation, forum shopping, and regulatory indeterminacy. The paper situates the ruling into broader discourses on constitutional pluralism and transnational adjudication on the assumption that a more harmonious regime is necessary to balance the protection of fundamental rights with the integrity of the arbitration.