Organizing Committee

Mr. Georgios Lenos
Hellenic Sporting Spirit Committee, Lawyer, Greece

Dear Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,

As Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the IASL’s 24th International Sports Law Conference, I would like to inform you that we are ambitious for this conference to be an important event for athletes, sport executives and sport professionals and especially for those acting in the fields of football and basketball.

On the horizon of the Olympic Games, sport is coordinate as a whole, both nationally and globally. As a member of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, whose concern is the very important case of the Olympic Games in the modern world, I assure you that our first priority is to secure the participation in the Games and generally in sport by overtaking any issue that may arise. To achieve this, the contribution of the laws and rules of both Sports Law and Lex Sportiva is decisive. Sports law has been taken on a large scale today, it has been under a major development, and has been applied in all areas of sporting action, but much more in the field of the most popular sports, such as Football and Basketball.

This means that the way under which the sporting process should be taking place and the behavior of every involved party, should be governed by the established principles of the Athletic Spirit and the Olympic Ideal. Thus, whatever position we may hold, as managing members, athletes, coaches, trainers in all kinds of sports, gymnastics and racing clubs, associations, professional associations or federations, as well as their participation as referees, observers or doctors of competitions, as well as spectators of these events, we must adhere to the rules of the Sports Law, but also to the principles of sportsmanship, the traditions of sport and the Olympic ideal and, in general, the appropriate athletic behavior. In Greece, the essence of the sporting spirit is governed by special provisions in conjunction with the provisions of the Olympic Charter, where the emerging cases are dealt with by the Hellenic Committee of the Sporting Spirit.

In order to ensure the sense of fairness in sport, we propose and hope that the Code of Athletic Ethics will be implemented, with specific regulations, various aspects and a similar structure and procedural rules for the operation of the Hellenic Committee of the Sporting Spirit.

The 24th Congress of Sport Law comes at the right time to look into the law and justice in sporting action, especially in Football and Basketball, and the problems that arise in major sporting events, with a variety and diversity of experts and keynote speakers from all over the world.

We invite you to participate in the discussion of the specific issues of the conference and to experience our historical and beautiful city of Athens.

My regards,

Georgios Lenos