Sports Law Series
PREFACE
Sports law is defined as the special law that investigates the landscape of legal relationships that develop in sports and agonistic scene. It investigates the problems that arise during sports and competitive activity, which is under a special regime of rules of law, structure, organization, implementation and human behavior, on the basis of experts and in a special context of rules of law, set by the legislator, or the private initiative and in which there is supervision and control by the administration and the established sports authorities according to the provisions of the Constitution, laws and Lex Sportiva. Physical activity that is not subject to legal restrictions and regulations, as defined above, is not a subject of sports law.
Sports Law consists of: a) Rules of law for sports action on special issues of sports and the system of sports clubs, b) Rules of institutional autonomy, of Lex Sportiva for special sports issues: the spirit of sportsmanship, conduct of games etc. and offenses in sports activity, c) Rules of law to regulate more general issues about sports, physical education and physical activity for the purposes of physical well-being, health and strength, d) Special laws that regulate matters on racial discrimination in sports, boycotts of matches, the legality of use and respect of trademarks in sports and other related matters as well as e) Legislation on advertising and television rights of sports teams and sponsoring. Common law rules and general principles of law also apply to sport on many issues either directly, due to the lack of specific rules, or indirectly by absorption, with a corresponding adjustment in their application, and often derogate from common law rules, for example the principle “lex specialis derogat legi generali”.
In this book with the title Sports Law: Legal Responsibility In Sports, Ethical -Contracts – Arbitration – Management αnd Covid 19, the legal horizon of sports is fundamentally investigated. In particular, the First Part includes issues concerning the introduction to sports law, with a focus on intra-sport rules as Lex Sportiva. Τhe Second Part, in the context of Sports Law, deals with issues such as ethics and responsibility in international Sports activities and the application of the Wada Code. In the Third Part, issues regarding contracts in sports, contracts of athletes and the protection of athletes are examined. The Fourth Part addresses issues of sports jurisdiction, arbitration in sports and the operation of judicial bodies such as CAS at the international level and the protection of human rights. The Fifth Part includes issues related to Sports Law and management such as the role of UNESCO in supporting the rights of children sports for all, the right of personal development, risk management in Top sport and sports activities as a lever for tourism development. The Sixth Part deals with issues related to Sports Law and COVID-19 as: The impact of coronavirus global health emergency on sports law, civil liability caused by the outbreak of coronavirus in sports law and athletes’ agreements and FIFA COVID-19.
This work on Sports Law, beyond the educational needs in the corresponding university courses, is also addressed to those who face either theoretical problems in research, or problems of solving practical issues in daily practice related to Sports Law and for the subsequent researchers and a useful tool for further “digging” in the “plateau” of this science.
On the occasion of this publication, I would like to thank all the authors as mentioned in the editorial in the effort to complete this work. I would like to especially thank the board members, associates and members of the International Association of Sports law which has demonstrated a rich activity in the field of science since 1992 (year of establishment). For the editing of the texts and the corrections, I especially thank Daphne Panagiotopoulou, as the Special Editor of this work.
Thinking that Sports Law has already crossed the threshold of the 21st Century, on a path of no return and with the belief that we contribute to the development and future of the science of Sports Law, we publish this work as a small contribution to research and teaching of Sports Law such as in effective operation and the best administration of the sports clubs and institutions internationally.
Special thanks to the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and dear colleague Professor Sergios Theodoridis EKPA publications manager for the consideration he showed to include this work in his publications.
Athens, March 2023
Dimitrios P. Panagiotopoulos
Professor, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
President of International Association of Sports Law (IASL)