International Sports Law, Lecture at BSEU on 26-09-2012
1. The Basics of International Sports
Law
Dr. Aliaksandr Danilevich,
Belarusian State University, Minsk
(Belarus)
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2. The nature of international
sports law
Part I
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3. Origin of international sports law
Existence of IOC International
Emulative
and international sports
character of sport
sports federations organization's acts
Social value International
of sport treaties
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4. International sports law
• Complex of rules that regulate the sports
relations of international nature, that are
international sports competitions with the
participation of different nationals.
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5. Sports
law
Sports Sports by-
legislation laws
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6. Significance of sports by-laws (Belarus’
example)
• NOC of Belarus is guided in its activity by Olympic Charter of
IOC (article 13 (2));
• Sports competitions are spent according to the rules made
sports entities (article 27 (4));
• The order of refereeing of sports competitions is defined by
the persons holding competitions (article 30 (2));
• The prohibition of use by sportsmen of methods, the
substances promoting increase of their working capacity and
forbidden for use by the legislation of Belarus and (or) IOC
decisions, or decisions of other corresponding international
organisations (article 34)
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7. Acts of international sports law
International International by-
legislation laws
• Anti-doping • IOC
• Fight against • WADA
violence • International
• Courts Sports
decisions and Federations
awards • others
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8. International sports legislation
(treaties)
Fight against doping Fight against violence
• Anti-Doping Convention •European Convention on
(16.11.1989) Spectator Violence and
• Additional Protocol to Misbehaviour at Sports
the Anti-Doping Events and in particular at
Convention (12.9.2002) Football Matches
• UNESCO International (19.8.1985)
Convention against
Doping in Sport
(19.10.2005)
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9. Documents of the Council of Europe
• Recommendations
– Recommendations about the sports policy
• The Recommendation About Principles of Appropriate Management In Sports (2005/8)
• Recommendation No. R (92) 13 Rev of The Committee Of Ministers To Member States
On The Revised European Sports Charter
• Recommendation No. R (92) 14 Rev of The Committee Of Ministers to Member States on
The Revised Code of Sports Ethics
• Recommendation About Issue of Visas to Sportsmen (99/10)
– Recommendations concerning spectator violence
• Recommendations about the prevention of racism, xenophobia and racial intolerance in
sports (2001/6)
– Recommendations about struggle against a doping
• Conventions
– European Convention on Spectator Violence and Misbehaviour at Sports
Events and in particular at Football Matches (19.8.1985)
– Anti-Doping Convention (16.11.1989)
– Additional Protocol to the Anti-Doping Convention (12.9.2002)
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10. The expanded private agreement on
sports (EPAS)
– It is created by the Resolution CM/Res(2007)8
– The purpose: sports development through
cooperation of the countries of
participants, creation of the all-European
standards of fair, healthy and well organized
sports
– 34 states, including Belarus and Germany
– 23 sports organisations (including ENGSO and
UEFA) are non-governmental partners of EPAS.
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11. The international sports by-laws
• IOC documents
– Olympic Charter in force as from 08.07.2011
• Rules of the international sports federations
– Technical rules
– Competitions rules
– Rules about the status of the player
– Disciplinary codes
• WADA
– World Anti-Doping Code (01.01.2009)
– 2013 List of Prohibited Substances and Methods
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12. Model documents of Inter-parliamentary
Assembly of the CIS on sports
• Model laws:
– About physical training and sports, 1996
– About youth sports, 2001
– About student's sports, 2003
– About the status of the sportsman of a national
team, 2003
– About professional sports, 2007
– About paralympic sports, 2008
– About physical training and sports (new edition), 2009
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14. The competence of Sports Arbitration Court in
Lausanne
1. As body of the first instance to consider disputes with
participation of national or international sports
federations;
2. To consider appeals on decisions of internal bodies of
the national and international sports organisations on
the basis of the corresponding documents providing it
(since 1991).
3. To draw the conclusions by inquiries of the
international sports federations.
4. The disputes arising in connection with IOC decisions
5. All disputes arising in view of Olympic Games, or
connected with them
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15. Categories of cases in САS
1) Commercial sports cases
- The disputes arisen from the break of contracts, in
particular, concerning sponsorship, sale of the broadcasting
rights in sport, transfers of players and relations of players
with coaches and agents
2) sports disciplinary affairs
- Doping cases, and also the cases connected with application of
violence during competitions, wrong refereeing or cruel
treatment of sports animals
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16. Structure SAS
Independent organisation International Council of Arbitration for
composed by 20 lawyers Sport
Court and its regional Sydney New-York
offices CAS office office
Ordinary Appelation
Departments arbitration arbitration ad-hoc
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17. Who can refer a case to the CAS?
• Any person connected with sports:
athletes, clubs, sports federations, organizers of
sports events, sponsors and the television
companies.
• Presence of the arbitration agreement:
– Can contain in the separate document,
– To be the reservation in the contract or the
regulations of competitions of the sports organisation
– Can stipulate the future disputes or concern already
arisen disagreement.
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18. Trial in САС
• Code of Sports Arbitration (2012)
• Procedure language
• Representation
• Applicable law
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19. Expenses at trial in САС
• Initial administrative payment at a rate of
1000 Swiss francs (≈ 1000 USD)
• Expenses are advanced by the parties in
common or brought by the claimant
• Arbitration expenses at decision removal are
didived proportionally to satisfied claims
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20. How long does CAS arbitration last ?
Ordinary • 6-12 months
arbitration
Appellation • 4 months
procedure
ad hoc • Within 24 hours
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21. Disciplinary proceedings in sports
• Activity of the competent sports organisations
through the authorised bodies on bringing to
account of subjects of the sports relations
which are in their jurisdiction, for
infringement of sports rules and principles
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22. Internal resoltion of sports disputes
• Consideration by the authorised bodies of the
sports organisations of sports disputes
between subjects of the sports relations which
are in their jurisdiction
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23. The competence
1) Should be provided by rules
2) There should be a communication
• Quantity of the bodies having jurisdiction
concerning concrete infringement
– National and international bodies
– At one level:
• Different associations by one kind of sports (boxing)
• Different bodies concerning different spheres of dispute (Rugby
football)
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24. Jurisdiction
– Jurisdiction concerning members
– Jurisdiction over the third persons
– Subject jurisdiction
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25. Jurisdiction over members
– Straight line the competence of the relation
Members (federation – clubs)
– Use of the competence over members for
achievement of the purposes under the
relation of the third Persons (federation –
players)
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26. Jurisdiction concerning the third
parties
– Necessity of the connection with the third parties
1. Direct contractual communication
2. Communication by means of pyramidal structure
3. Communication by means of desire expression
to participate in the authorised competition
– Contract presence
– Absence of connection
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27. Subject jurisdiction
– The relations which have been not connected with
sports
– The relations falling under the regulation
1. Infringements during competition (game)
– Different punishments by the arbitrator and disciplinary
committee
2. Not noticed Infringements (video viewing)
3. Changes of sanctions of the arbitrator by federation
– Jurisdiction action in time
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28. Jurisdictional relations between the
international and national bodies
• Walker Case
– The athlete Dougie Walker has been discharged of
competitions for a dope disciplinary committee
Athletic federation SK;
– IAAF Wished to cancel in an arbitration order the
decision of Disciplinary committee
– Position Walker:
• There is no contract between him and IAAF
• Presence of the arbitration agreement with national
federation
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29. Jurisdictional relations between one
level bodies
• Within the limits of one kind of sports
• All depends on the one who will organise
competitions
• Sanctions can be applied by various bodies
(IOC + IF)
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30. Jurisdiction in a context of the
internal resolution of disputes
– Internal revision of decisions of non-disciplinary
bodies
– The internal resolution of disputes between
Participants (e.g. in FIFA)
– Investigations and The commissions
• The commissions on ethics, the referee commissions
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31. Types of disciplinary infringements
and internal disputes
– Infringement of the rules forbidding fulfilment of certain actions
• Doping
• Infringement of game rules
• Infringements «out of a game»
• Other disciplinary procedures
– Disputes under decisions of control bodies regarding the application of
rules
• The admission to competitions
• Selection for participation in competitions
• Advancement and transition to a step more low
• The permission to fulfilment of certain actions
• Dispute concerning the sum received as a result of competition
• Other disputes
– Disputes between Participants (internal arbitration and mediation)
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32. Publication, change and applicability of
rules
• Rules should be in force at the moment of
infringement
• Rules should be known
• When changes of rules come into force?
• Whether there correspond rules to basic
documents?
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33. Thank you for your attention!
Dr. Aliaksandr Danilevich
phone: +375 29 621 13 14
e-mail: aliaksandr.danilevich@danilevich.by
http://www.danilevich.by
Skype: aliaksandr.danilevich
Presentation on the web: http://www.slideshare.net/Danilevich
Bibliography: Lewis, A; Taylor, J. Sport: Law and Practice. - London: Butterworth, 2003.
– Ch. A2.
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