GENERAL
57. In judicial proceedings the ECU shall be represented by its President, who shall be able to sue or be sued on its behalf. In the absence of the President, representation shall vest in the Deputy President and then the Secretary General. In the absence of these officers, representation shall vest in the member or members appointed by the Board.
58. (a) Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary in this Statute, ECU hereby subscribes to the final settlement of any dispute directly or indirectly related to the application and implementation of these Statutes in its whole or partial practice, be it commercial or relating to the practice and development of chess or a dispute following a decision by ECU, to be sent to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne without recourse to any other court or tribunal.
(b) The settlement of all disputes described above shall be applicable to acts performed by:
- ECU as an Organisation
- ECU Office bearers
- Member Federations, their clubs and individual players
- Sponsors
- Any person or body with whom ECU has entered into any form of contractual arrangement either directly or indirectly related to Chess.
(c) The Decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport shall be final and binding on the parties.
(d) An appeal before the CAS may only be brought after ECU’s internal procedures and remedies have been exhausted. The decisions of the ECU Board and ECU General Assembly relating to matters falling within their respective competencies are final. The General Assembly will be the internal appellate organ for all decisions of ECU Board and officials. An aggrieved party may appeal against the decision by the ECU Board directly to CAS if, and only if, that party’s interest will be irreparably harmed by having to wait for a final decision by the next General Assembly.
(e) The time limit for appeal to the CAS shall be 21 days from the date that the appellant becomes aware, or reasonably should have been aware, of the decision in question. An appeal does not suspend the execution of a disciplinary sanction, subject to the power of the CAS to order that any disciplinary sanction be stayed pending the arbitration. The CAS shall not take into account facts or evidence, which the appellant could have submitted to an internal ECU body by acting with reasonable diligence required under the circumstances, but failed or chose not to do so. The CAS shall decide the dispute according to the applicable ECU Statutes, regulations and rules, as well as according to Swiss law. The language of the arbitration will be English. The decision of the CAS shall be final and binding on the parties.
(f) Subject to and without prejudice to the arbitration clauses above, any other dispute instituted against ECU, including settlement of disputes involving sponsors and/or any person or body with whom ECU has entered into any form of contractual arrangement related to Chess, shall be submitted exclusively to the competent courts of the Canton of Zug, Switzerland.
59. The accidental omission to give notice of any meeting to, or the non receipt of notice by, any member shall not invalidate the proceedings at that meeting.
60. It shall be lawful by a resolution approved by a two-thirds majority of at least 50% of the members entitled to vote and be present at any General Assembly to amend or revoke the Memorandum and any of these Articles of Association, or to make such other Articles in addition as to them shall seem proper.
61. The General Assembly shall be the sole interpreter of these Articles of Association.
62. The effective date of these Articles shall be from the day after the closing of the General Assembly which approves it.
63. Communication within the ECU shall be by letter, fax or e-mail.
64. Decisions made by the General Assembly concerning the Memorandum and Articles of Association will come into effect on the last day of the General Assembly, after the General Assembly is closed. Amendments to Financial Regulations come into operation on the first day of the next fiscal year and amendments to Tournament Regulations take effect as stipulated therein.