News archive 2022

Maximilian Wegge published article in SpuRt

Maximilian Wegge published the article "Kryptowährungen, Fan-Tokens und NFTs - ein Blick durch die Sportbrille" (cryptocurrencies, fan tokens and NFTs - a peek through sports glasses) in "SpuRt" (Journal for Sport and Law). The crypto industry is increasingly gaining ground in sports. With that in mind, Maximilian Wegge illustrates in his article the legal framework in which cryptocurrencies, fan tokens and NFTs operate and evaluates the opportunities and risks for decision-makers in sport.

David Menz and Dr Tinusch Jalilvand publish article in LawInSport

David Menz and Dr Tinusch Jalilvand publish the article "Going Green? A first look at the German Football League's Sustainability Criteria." in LawInSport. The authors place and categorize the new DFL Sustainability Criteria legally within the DFL Licensing Regulations. Moreover, they compare the DFL Sustainability Criteria with their legal sources and, on this basis, look for ways for further development of the DFL Sustainability Guideline."

Dr Heiner Kahlert and David Menz publish a chapter in the book “Sporting Succession in Football”

Dr Heiner Kahlert and David Menz contributed to the book “Sporting Succession in Football” by J. Cambreleng Contreras/S. Samarth/ J.F. Vandellós Alamilla. In the chapter on sporting succession in basketball, the authors analyse the requirements for the extension of sanctions imposed on debtors of a BAT award to their “sporting successor” in accordance with the internal regulations of the international basketball federation (FIBA) with a particular focus on the CAS jurisprudence that has been issued in this context over the last years.

David Menz promoted to Salary Partner and Maximilian Wegge promoted to Senior Associate

We are pleased to announce that David Menz and Maximilian Wegge have been promoted to Salary Partner and Senior Associate respectively. The entire team of Martens Lawyers extends their warmest congratulations to David and Maximilian on their well-deserved promotions, and wishes them both the very best in their new roles. With this line-up, we look forward with utmost confidence to the future of our law firm!

Our CO2 offsetting for 2021/22

After our compensation payment to atmosfair on 27 December 2021, we have now also compensated our CO2 emissions for the first half of 2022. As usual, we calculated our CO2 emissions from May 2021 to May 2022 with the help of a CO2 calculator (35,000 kg) and determined the total amount required for compensation (EUR 800). We then rounded up this amount to a total of EUR 1,000 and donated the money to atmosfair. You can find the donation certificates here.
We are happy to continue to be a climate-neutral law firm. However, since this should not be the end of our efforts for a better future, for 2021/2022 we have, for the first time, paid more than would have been necessary to offset our carbon footprint. We have thus taken the first step towards becoming a "climate positive company". However, we do not intend to stop there. In the future, we will do everything in our power to help other companies and individuals to reduce their carbon footprint. As soon as there is something to report in this regard, you will find out here.

Dr Heiner Kahlert and Maximilian Wegge published report on online platform “Lexology”

Dr Heiner Kahlert and Maximilian Wegge  have contributed to the chapter on dispute resolution in Germany on the online platform "Lexology" The report will be part of the tool "Getting The Deal Through", which shall provide in-house lawyers with answers to the most important legal and regulatory questions that may arise in business transactions and legal disputes in Germany. The report focuses on the topics of court proceedings, arbitration proceedings as well as alternative dispute resolution. We are pleased to be in charge of submitting further contributions to the chapter on dispute resolution for at least two more years. For the report, which is published once a year, please click here. (Reproduced with permission from Law Business Research Ltd. This article was first published in Lexology GTDT – Dispute Resolution 2022. For further information, please click here.)

Martens Rechtsanwälte selected as “Top Law Firm for Sports Law” by Wirtschaftswoche

The main German business weekly Wirtschaftswoche (WiWO) has included Martens Rechtsanwälte in its newly created list of "WiWo Top Law Firms – The Most Renowned Law Firms and Lawyers for Sports Law". Moreover, Dr Heiner Kahlert is listed as a highly recommended sports lawyer. Both listings are based on a survey conducted by an independent jury of the Handelsblatt Research Institute among 460 sports lawyers from 315 law firms. For the list as published on WiWo.de in German, please click here.

Heiner Kahlert appointed as CAS arbitrator

A few days ago, Heiner Kahlert was admitted to the list of arbitrators of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne. In addition to his experience in commercial and investment arbitration, Heiner also has more than a decade of experience from numerous CAS arbitrations, first as an ad-hoc clerk to CAS tribunals and then as counsel representing parties before the CAS. In moving into the arbitrator role, Heiner follows the example set by the founder of our law firm, the late Dr Dirk-Reiner Martens, who was already on the CAS arbitrator list when the CAS was founded and who was subsequently appointed in nearly 200 CAS proceedings, including at four Olympic Games.
The CAS acts, on the one hand, as a “supreme court” for appeals against decisions of sports federations from around the globe. On the other hand, the CAS also decides as a regular court of arbitration on a wide variety of contractual disputes related to sport. Arbitrators in CAS proceedings can only be those persons who have been admitted to the list of arbitrators. Heiner Kahlert is now one of 15 CAS arbitrators with German nationality.

Article by David Menz and Dr Tinusch Jalilvand on the importance of the „legitimate interest“ in accordance with Article 6 para 1 lit. f GDPR in the context of processing sports data

David Menz and Dr Tinusch Jalilvand have published an article in the German sports law journal SpoPrax regarding the importance of the „legitimate interest“ according to Article 6 para 1 lit. f GDPR in the context of processing sports data. In their article, the authors focus in particular on the requirements for a lawful processing of so called “primary sports data” by different stakeholders in sport, considering recent developments around the “Project Red Card” in the United Kingdom. Furthermore, the authors analyse the requirements and consequences of a potential licensing of the processing of primary sports data. The article is published in edition 2/2022 of the SpoPrax at page 60 et. seq.

Dr Tinusch Jalilvand co-hosts the Seminar „Recent legal challenges in professional football” at Free University of Berlin

Dr Tinusch Jalilvand organised together with Univ Prof Dr Helmuth Grothe a seminar regarding “Recent legal challenges in professional football” at the Free University of Berlin on 20 January 2022. The students had the opportunity to draft a thesis on recent legal developments in professional football such as non-playing-clauses or freedom of expression in professional football and to discuss their research with experts, working in the field of professional football. Beside Dr Tinusch Jalilvand, in-house lawyers from Bundesliga clubs VFL Wolfsburg and Werder Bremen, the football platform OneFootball as well as the German Football Federation (DFB) and the German Football League (DFL) participated in the seminar. This way, students received the rare chance to get into a high level exchange with experienced professionals and learn about different career paths in sports law.

Support for the Dirk Nowitzki Foundation

As in the previous two years, our law firm has again supported the fabulous work of the Dirk Nowitzki Foundation by way of a donation at the end of 2021. The foundation was created by the former NBA superstar and German national basketball team player Dirk Nowitzki. For many years now, it has helped kids and adolescents to recognise and develop their potential through sport and also outside sport. This type of social commitment is particularly close to our hearts and we are pleased that we were once again able to make a financial contribution to it.

David Menz and Dr Tinusch Jalilvand achieved the termination of the criminal investigation against modern pentathlete Annika Schleu

The public prosecutor’s office of Potsdam has decided to end the criminal investigations against our client Ms Annika Schleu for alleged violations of the Animal Welfare Act during the Olympic Games in Tokyo in August 2021 pursuant to section 153a of the German Code of Criminal Procedure today. Ms Schleu will pay a small amount to a non-profit organisation, after which the criminal investigation will finally be over. After the end of the proceedings, Ms Schleu can now fully dedicate herself to her sport again, which has always included the loving care with horses.

New BAT Arbitration Rules

On 1 January 2022, the new version of the BAT Arbitration Rules came into effect. The new rules include an adjustment of the amount to be paid as handling fee for a BAT arbitration and provide an additional purpose for the use of monies from the "BAT Fund". The new version of the BAT Arbitration Rules and an explanation of the most relevant amendments are available here.
The BAT is a true arbitral tribunal for the resolution of financial disputes in the world of basketball. The BAT was established in 2007 by the founder of our law firm, Dr. Dirk-Reiner Martens, in cooperation with the international basketball federation (FIBA) and has been administered by Martens Rechtsanwälte ever since. Measured by annual case numbers, the BAT is one of the largest sports arbitration courts in the world.

NJW Report on the Development of Sports Law

Dr Heiner Kahlert and David Menz published a report on the development of sports law in 2021 in the Neue Juristische Wochenschrift (NJW), the legal journal with the highest circulation in Germany.
The report is published on pp. 3700-3706 of the 51/2021 edition of the NJW and provides an overview of relevant decisions from various legal fields affected by sports law. From now on, such a report will be published in the NJW every year. This also reflects the steadily increasing importance of sports law in practice and academics.