The group pleaded with the arbitrator that he should discuss the issue of jurisdiction, but the arbitrator did not consider this. The arbitrator's award was given without authority, as it obligated the group to pay the base salary according to the employment agreement. Authority that is given to the Labor Court and not to the arbitrator.
It was further argued that the arbitrator did not rule on all the matters brought before him, ignored the evidence presented, expressed his opinion regarding the forgery of a signature without the need for an expert in graphology, and did not give weight to the applicant's unreliability even though he was "caught lying".
Therefore, since this is an act of the court, in view of the good arguments of the class against the claim on the merits of the matter, it is clear that the class will suffer a real distortion of the law and a severe violation of its legal rights, in accordance with the provisions of the law and the case law in the absence of the possibility of objecting to the claim in court, while canceling its legal and legal right to receive its day before the court.
Discussion and Decision
The Normative Framework
- The arbitration proceeding that took place between the parties originated from the provisions of Sections 10-11 of the Sports Law, which provide, inter alia, as follows (emphases are not in the original - H.T.):
- (a) An association or association shall promulgate bylaws regulating the proper management of the sport or of the sports that it is a center, including regulations regarding discipline, internal judgment, including the internal judicial institutions and the procedures according to which they will discuss - subject to Article 11, the transfer of athletes - subject to section 11A, as well as regarding the salaries and payments of athletes, coaches and other officials.
...
- (a) The exclusive authority to discuss and decide matters related to activity within the framework of an association or association will be in the hands of the internal judicial institutions set out in the Regulations under Section 10, and in accordance with the provisions set forth in the Articles of Association under that section; The decisions of the highest internal court in matters of discipline shall be final and shall not be appealed before a court.
- The language of the Sports Law indicates a deliberate intention to establish the right and the obligation to resort to arbitration proceedings where a dispute has arisen between parties in sports, as in our case. The purpose of these sections is to concentrate and regulate all disputes, including in matters of wages and other payments by virtue of the employee-employer relationship within the framework of the internal judicial institutions of the sports associations and associations, in light of the unique relationship between an athlete and his team, which is different from a classic labor relationship, and which requires familiarity with the sport and the accepted and prevailing conduct in it [compare: Request for Leave to Appeal 1020/00 Avraham (Avi) Cohen vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Department [published in Nevo] (June 18, 2000)].
- However, Section 3 of the Arbitration Law, on which the class's motion for annulment is based, states that:
"There is no validity to an arbitration agreement on a matter that cannot serve as the subject of an agreement between the parties"