Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this practical analysis of sports law in the European Union deals with the regulation of sports activity by both public authorities and private sports organizations. The growing internationalization of sports inevitably increases the weight of global regulation, yet each country maintains its own distinct regime of sports law and its own national and local sports organizations. Sports law at a national or organizational level thus gains a growing relevance in comparative law. The book describes and discusses both state-created rules and autonomous self-regulation regarding the variety of economic, social, commercial, cultural, and political aspects of sports activities. Self- regulation manifests itself in the form of by-laws, and encompasses organizational provisions, disciplinary rules, and rules of play. However, the trend towards more professionalism in sports and the growing economic, social and cultural relevance of sports have prompted an increasing reliance on legal rules adopted by public authorities. This form of regulation appears in a variety of legal areas, including criminal law, labour law, commercial law, tax law, competition law, and tort law, and may vary following a particular type or sector of sport. It is in this dual and overlapping context that such much-publicized aspects as doping, sponsoring and media, and responsibility for injuries are legally measured. This monograph fills a gap in the legal literature by giving academics, practitioners, sports organizations, and policy makers access to sports law at this specific level. Lawyers representing parties with interests in the European Union will welcome this very useful guide, and academics and researchers will appreciate its value in the study of comparative sports law.

Globalization not only means fans watching distant contests and leagues exporting their products elsewhere; it also means the ability of knowledgeable academics and policy-oriented fans to learn about how others confront similar challenges. North Americans who realize on reflection that the way we do things is not necessarily natural or the only way will enjoy and profit from the insightful comparative essays in this book. The so-called European Model of Sport is quite different than our own. There are significant parallels between the European effort to distinguish sport and commerce and our own efforts in regard to big-time collegiate sports. The unusual (for North American fans of typical sports leagues) issues with regard to auto racing are quite instructive. A truly horizon-expanding work. Stephen F. Ross, Penn State Institute for Sports Law, Policy and Research, US The purpose of this book is to examine, from an EU perspective, the numerous developments which have taken place in the regulation of sporting activity in the last decade. Uniquely, in addressing these developments, the book adopts an inter-disciplinary approach, involving law, economics and sociology. The chapters place the regulation of sport in the context of the EU regulatory structure which hitherto has emerged in a piece-meal fashion and thus warrants a more holistic approach. The chapters bring together several key themes which arise from the question of whether sport is special? This addresses a growing argument that sporting activity displays unique properties which require a distinct form of regulation that existing competition or free movement rules cannot provide. The book is divided into three parts which reflect the current policy, legislative and judicial discourses that exists in the regulation of sport. The Regulation of Sport in the European Union provides both an academic and practical review of EU law and policy as applied to sport, and as such, this comprehensive overview will be of great interest to EU law academics, economists and political scientists. It will also appeal to legal practitioners and to those with an interest in regulatory processes in the EU.

This electronic version has been made available under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) open access license. Adopting a distinctive legal and political analysis, this book argues that the EU is receptive to the sports sectors claims for special treatment before the law. The book investigates the birth of EU sports law and policy by examining significant court decisions, the possibility of exempting sport from EU law, sport and the EU treaty, and more.

Given the impact that successive court rulings have had on the organisation of the sports movement in the past 15 years, the autonomy of non-governmental sports organisations has become a highly topical concern in Europe. It is also closely related to the issue of governance, the subject of previous Council of Europe studies. The Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) decided to explore the concept of autonomy in greater depth by studying the conceptual, political, legal, economic and psycho-sociological aspects of the subject. This study was carried out at the request of the EPAS by the Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration (IDHEAP) on the basis of a questionnaire sent to public authorities in charge of sport and to national and international umbrella sports organisations. In addition to an analysis of the data obtained, documents produced by public authorities and sports organisations on this emerging issue are presented. This study contributes to a better understanding of the concept of autonomy and offers a clear picture of the issues involved.

The EU’s influence on sport has traditionally focused on the socio-economic and cultural impact. This Research Handbook on EU Sports Law explores the development of the 'European dimension' in sport, and the concomitant legal issues including, competition law, state aid and free movement of persons. The application of such areas of EU law to sport and the influence of EU law on key policy issues such as, doping, match-fixing and governance, are detailed in this comprehensive collection. The topical chapters by experts in their field, also touch upon the future evolution of EU sports law.

The name "Brussels" has become largely synonymous with the regulatory role of the EU. Yet "Brussels" is also a source of inspiration, especially in such areas where the EU is not empowered to regulate, and this side of "Brussels" is a rather different one. The emerging policy field of sport (which only recently got a legal base in the Treaty of Lisbon) illustrates the complementarity of inspiration versus regulation coming "from Brussels". By drawing on two case studies - the fight against doping and the promotion of health-enhancing physical activity - the book shows that inspiration "from Brussels" takes on a special dimension in relation to sport and physical activity because sport policies are often heavily dependent on various, largely unquestioned arrangements which are in place at national, regional or local level. While EU-level regulation remains a possibility in certain cases, the scope for regulation is very limited. The scope for inspiration, by contrast, is almost endless. The sport sector is a natural candidate for inspiration and inspiration "from Brussels" can be an opportunity for renewal.

Principles & Practice in EU Sports Law provides an overview of EU Sports Law. In particular it assesses sporting bodies' claims for legal autonomy from the 'ordinary law' of states and international organisations. Sporting bodies insist on using their expertise to create a set of globally applicable rules which should not be deviated from irrespective of the territory on which they are applied. The application of the lex sportiva, which refers to the conventions that define a sport's operation, is analysed, as well as how this is used in claims for sporting autonomy. The lex sportiva may generate conflicts with a state or international institution such as the European Union, and the motives behind sporting bodies' claims in favour of the lex sportiva's autonomy may be motivated by concern to uphold its integrity or to preserve commercial gain. Stephen Weatherill's text underlines the tense relationship between lex sportiva and national and regional jurisdictions which is exemplified with specific focus on the EU. The development of EU sports law and its controversies are detailed, reinforced by the example of relevant legal principles in the context of the practice of sports law. The intellectual heart of the text endeavours to make a normative assessment of the strength of claims in favour of sporting autonomy, and the comparison between different jurisdictions and sports is evident. Furthermore the enduring dilemma facing sports lawyers running throughout the text is whether sport should be regarded as special, and in turn how (far) its special character should be granted legal recognition --Front flap of book.