Coates, a 60-year-old lawyer, was chosen by the court's governing body ahead of Canada's Dick Pound, the former President of the World Anti-Doping Agency, who was the only other candidate to replace Italian Mino Auletta, who is stepping down.

It was the second time Pound had been overlooked for the role having also been beaten by Auletta in 2008.

Auletta has been acting President since the death of Senegalese judge Keba Mbaye in 2007. 

He filled the role until the end of Mbaye's term in 2010.

Coates will now serve a full four-year term, which will include the Olympics at London in 2012 and Sochi in 2014.

He will begin officially on January 1, 2011.

Coates has been a member of ICAS since 1994 and vice president since 1995.

Coates is currently a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board and a member of its Juridical, TV Rights and New Media Commissions.

He is also heavily involved in future Olympic preparations as a member of the IOC's Coordination Commissions for London 2012 and Rio 2016.

The CAS, which is based in Lausanne, was set-up in 1984 by then IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch to deal with disputes arising during the Olympics.

In 1994 the CAS underwent reforms to make itself more independent of the IOC, organisationally and financially.

The biggest change resulting from this reform was the creation of an "International Council of Arbitration for Sport" (ICAS) to look after the running and financing of the CAS, thereby taking the place of the IOC.

All Olympic International Federations, including football's world governing body FIFA, and many National Olympic Committees, have recognised the jurisdiction of the CAS and included in their statutes an arbitration clause referring disputes to it.

Through compliance with the 2009 World Anti-Doping Code all Olympic International Federations have recognised the jurisdiction of CAS for anti-doping rule violations.

At the same meeting, the ICAS also elected its two vice-presidents:, Sweden's Gunnar Werner and America's Michael Lenard.

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