Dr Heiner Kahlert, David Menz and Maximilian Wegge recognised in the Lexology Index: Germany 2026 Report
We are delighted that Dr. Heiner Kahlert, David Menz and Maximilian Wegge have been recognised as leading practitioners in the field of “sports & entertainment” in the Lexology Index: Germany 2026 report (formerly Who's Who Legal). In addition, Dr. Heiner Kahlert has also been recognised as “Thought Leader” in the Lexology Index: Sports & Gaming 2026 report and as “Future Leader” in the Lexology Index: Arbitration 2026 report.
Lexology Index: Germany is an in-depth report to the country’s legal marketplace that showcases lawyers who have been highlighted by their peers and clients as being the best in their field.
Lexology Index: Sports & Gaming seeks to identify lawyers recommended for their expertise in providing commercial and regulatory-focused advice to clients active in the gambling, gaming, leisure and sports sectors.
Lexology Index: Arbitration 2026 is the culmination of months of research by Lexology Index and Global Arbitration Review. The report identifies 2,030 prominent lawyers recommended for their expertise in resolving complex international disputes. Also, it highlights 969 lawyers aged 45 and under as Future Leaders.
See: https://www.lexology.com/index/report/germany, https://www.lexology.com/index/report/sports-gaming/rankings?r=1843240&c=6638635#thought-leader and https://www.lexology.com/index/report/arbitration/rankings?r=1843240#future-leader.
A heartfelt thank you to all the peers, clients and in-house counsels who supported Heiner, David and Maximilian with their votes. We are truly pleased about this recognition, since the team at Martens is continuously committed to offering our clients the highest level of support and service. Sports law is what drives us!
Chui Ling Goh awarded the Best Award Prize for the FAC 2025 SiArb
We are pleased to share that our foreign associate Chui Ling Goh has been awarded the Best Award Prize for the Fellowship Assessment Course (FAC) 2025 organised by the Singapore Institute for Arbitrators (SiArb). The Best Award Prize is awarded to the best arbitral award written by a candidate for the FAC, which comprises a 3.5-hour open-book examination where candidates are required to draft a full and reasoned arbitral award based on a complex factual scenario and legal arguments presented in the case materials.
This recognition highlights Ling’s strong engagement in the field of sports arbitration and her contribution to the growing arbitration landscape in Asia and Singapore.
Her work in arbitration, combined with her academic and advisory activities, reflects the high professional standards we value at Martens.
We warmly congratulate Ling on this well-deserved acknowledgement.
NJW Report on the Development of Sports Law in 2025
David Menz und Dr. Heiner Kahlert published their report on the development of sports law in 2025 in the Neue Juristische Wochenschrift (NJW – 46/2025 edition, p. 3334 et seq.). The report picks up where the report for 2024 (NJW – 46/2024 edition, p. 3340 et seq.) left off and provides an overview of relevant decisions from various legal fields affected by sports law.
First arbitration case filed with the Dispute Resolution for Riot Games’ Esports (EMEA)
We are happy to announce that the first arbitration case was filed with the Dispute Resolution for Riot Games’ Esports (EMEA) (the “DR”) in August 2025, a mere ten months after the creation of the DR.
Less than six weeks after filing, the case was resolved through an amicable settlement.
This shows two things:
First, relevant stakeholders have already included the arbitration clause in favour of the DR in their contracts.
Secondly, the DR plays an important role in efficiently resolving disputes in Riot’s EMEA ecosystem, not only by adjudicating cases but also by assisting parties in finding an amicable solution for their disputes.
Martens hosted the 3rd Conference of the Basketball Arbitral Tribunal (BAT) on 17 October 2025
We were delighted to welcome more than 70 participants from 37 countries to the 3rd BAT Conference in Munich!
The programme featured updates on recent BAT developments (Heiner Kahlert), FIBA’s assistance in enforcing BAT awards (Benjamin Schindler), and the launch of POP – a new fast-track procedure for simple debt collection claims (David Menz). Further highlights included discussions on the impact of recent ECJ (“Seraing”) and ECHR (“Semenya”) rulings on BAT arbitration (Ulrich Haas) and a presentation by Jus Mundi on research tools for BAT users (Nicole Kim).
Thank you to all speakers and attendees for your valuable contributions!
Another big thank you goes to LawInSport, hashtag#SpuRt and Sports Arbitration Moot (SAM) for their support in promoting the conference.
For the conference presentations and some photos, please click here.
Dr Heiner Kahlert publishes case note on the ECJ’s ‘Seraing’ ruling
In the current issue (No. 38) of the Neue Juristische Wochenschrift (NJW), Germany's highest-circulation legal journal, Dr Heiner Kahlert has published a case note on the ECJ ruling in the case of RFC Seraing v FIFA. He concludes that the ECJ has strengthened sports arbitration by confirming, in particular, that the (limited) review applicable to commercial arbitral awards also applies to awards issued by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) seated in Lausanne.
Dr Heiner Kahlert selected as a member of the SIAC Panel of Arbitrators
The Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) has appointed Dr Heiner Kahlert to its Panel of Arbitrators. SIAC is one of the world's leading arbitration institutions. In 2024, 625 new cases involving parties from 72 different jurisdictions were filed before SIAC. Its Panel of Arbitrators helps parties selecting suitable arbitrators. A prerequisite for admission is proof of sufficient experience as an arbitrator in international arbitration proceedings. In addition to Dr Kahlert, fifteen lawyers based in Germany are currently members of the SIAC Panel of Arbitrators.
In March, Dr Kahlert was already admitted to the Panel of Arbitrators of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC).
Heiner Kahlert, Prof. Ulrich Haas and Prof. Antonio Rigozzi publish article in SpuRt and jusletter
The ECJ’s ISU decision and the General Advocate’s Opinion in RFC Seraing raise fundamental questions regarding the future of sportsarbitration. Heiner Kahlert and Ulrich Haas look into those questions in the newest issue of Germany’s most-read sports law journal SpuRt and, together with Antonio Rigozzi, in weblaw's latest jusletter.
Chui Ling Goh appointed as a Pro Bono Counsel for the IIHF
We are delighted to announce that Chui Ling Goh has been appointed as a Pro Bono Counsel for the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). This appointment underscores Ling's strong expertise and reputation in international sports law. Martens Rechtsanwälte is very happy to support the IIHF's mission and the ice hockey community through Ling’s engagement.
Juliane Schneider gives Presentation on “Pregnancy in Sports”
Juliane Schneider spoke on May 8 as part of the online lecture series "BayriscHER - Help to Empower Women Resources" of the Bavarian Basketball Association (BBV) on how to deal with the important topic of "Pregnancy in Sports".
Juliane gave an overview of the relevant FIFA regulations and the implementation by the DFB. Afterwards, it was discussed to what extent the existing regulations in football can serve as a model for the rule-making of associations of other sports.
Further information (in German) on the exciting lecture series can be found here.
Dr Heiner Kahlert now a member of the HKIAC Panel of Arbitrators
Our firm is delighted to announce that Dr Heiner Kahlert was admitted to the renowned Panel of Arbitrators of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC). The HKIAC is one of the leading arbitral institutions in the world. More than 350 arbitrations were submitted to the HKIAC in 2024 alone, the vast majority of which were international in nature.
The Panel of Arbitrators is intended to assist parties in finding suitable arbitrators for their matters. According to the HKIAC's guidelines, only persons with particular experience as arbitrators are accepted onto the panel. Dr Heiner Kahlert is now one of only eleven German (and German-licensed) members of the panel.
Our commitment to climate protection
For years we have been endeavouring to reduce our carbon footprint. To this end, we are, on the one hand, trying to avoid unnecessary CO2 emissions, for example by reducing our travel activities – as we had already done before the corona virus pandemic – through the increased use of video conferencing and preferably travelling by train. Additionally, apart from a few, rare exceptions, our employees regularly cycle or use public transport to get to the office.
Furthermore, we obtain our electricity from a provider that supplies electricity from renewable energy with a certificate of origin and use local/district heating for heating and hot water in the office. On the other hand, we have once again made a CO2 compensation payment to atmosfair – this time covering the period from May 2022 to May 2024. As before, we used a CO2 calculator to calculate our CO2 emissions with the help of the data available to us as well as estimated values and determined the total amount required to offset these emissions. We rounded up this amount to a total of EUR 2,300 and transferred it to atmosfair. You can find the donation certificate here.
We are pleased to continue contributing to climate protection as a company and are determined to remain on this path.
Dr. Heiner Kahlert and David Menz publish article on the Payment Order Procedure at the Basketball Arbitral Tribunal (BAT).
Dr Heiner Kahlert and David Menz have published an article in the German sports law journal SpuRt 1/25 about the BAT and its new Payment Order Procedure. The article first provides an overview of the procedure before the BAT and its special features. It further explains the functioning of the Payment Order Procedure, which was introduced in February 2024. The Payment Order Procedure is comparable to default judgements before state courts (e.g. the European order for payment procedure) and is arguably the first of its kind in the context of international (sports) arbitration.
NJW Report on the Development of Sports Law in 2024
David Menz und Dr. Heiner Kahlert published a report on the development of sports law in 2024 in the Neue Juristische Wochenschrift (NJW – 46/2024 edition, p. 3340 et seq.). The report picks up where the report for 2023 (NJW – 46/2023 edition, p. 3337 et seq.) left off and provides an overview of relevant decisions from various legal fields affected by sports law.
