SSRN Id2972059

‘Issues in Emerging Area of Sports Law: Lex Sportiva’
Indian Law Review, Vol 1 No. 1, pp. 114-147, Inaugural Issue 2009 - National Law Institute
University, Bhopal
Vijay Kumar Singh

Assistant Professor (Law)
Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur
While commentating upon the ‘law as a system of rules’, Salmond took ‘contract
bridge’ as an example1. At that time, Salmond would not have imagined that the
rules of game would take such a proportion that it would necessitate a separate
branch of study called ‘sports law’. Well, now sports law has a definite position
in legal system and new sports law jurisprudence – lex sportiva is emerging.
Increasing interaction between the sports and law has led to the development of
sports law. Sports touches varied areas of law and the legal principles are
adapted to the situation in sports. Areas of law like contract, tax, competition,
discrimination share a boundary with sports when issues arises relating to
performance of a contract or selection of a player on the basis of racial
discrimination. There are larger issues of match-fixing, doping, and violence too.
However, there is a haphazard development of sports law, reason being most of
the rules being governed by various organization and as Salmond said ‘a person
is subject to the rules of the game only when he plays the game.’ There are other
areas like advertising rights, restraint clauses for players in contracts. The
problem gets still larger when it comes to international sports where we already
are under the porous roof of international law. The present article traces the
development of sports law and points out key issues in sports law. The paper has
five parts. First part deals with the introduction of sports law which includes the
development of ‘sports law’ from ‘sports and law’; difference between amateur
and professional sports, international sports law and global sports law. The
1
Fitzgerald, P.J., Salmond on Jurisprudence, Sweet & Maxwell, 1966, at p. 44: He stated that the rules of a
game such as contract bridge define the game, and when bridge-players comply with these rules they are
not just using one particular method of achieving an objective (i.e. playing the bridge); on the contrary,
compliance with the rule is partly what bridge-playing consists in; thus, making the rule constitutive.
Electroniccopy
Electronic copyavailable
available at:
at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059
https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059
second and third part discusses about the international sports federations and
international sports organizations respectively. Fourth part discusses various
issues involved in sports law and the paper ends with discussion on status of
sports law in India.
1. INTRODUCTION
Sports, games and physical fitness have been a vital component of our civilization, as is
evident from the existence of the highly evolved system of yoga and a vast range of
highly developed indigenous games, including martial arts. The intrinsic linkage between
sports and games and the human quest for excellence was recognized ever since the
inception of human civilization, reaching its epitome in the ancient Greek civilization,
which was the progenitor of the Olympic movement2.
In India, history of sports can be traced back to the epic of Mahabharata which narrates
an incidence where a game called Chaturang3 was played between two groups of warring
cousins Pandavas and Kauravas. Sports have been treated as important aspect of human
development. A famous saying goes “all work and no play makes jack a dull boy.”
Sport has traditionally seen itself as a private social activity separate from the reach of
legal frameworks. As Foster explains, ‘legal norms are fixed rules which prescribe rights
and duties; relationships within the social world of sport are not seen in this way’4.
However, in the recent years the sports have not only remained an activity of physical
development of body or an activity of entertainment, but has acquired a professional
approach rather a business proportion involving many stakeholders. With high salaries,
ticket prices, and profits, professional sports are no longer just a game, but a big business
worth billions of dollars5.
2
Comprehensive Sports Policy 2007, India
3
Chess originated in ancient India and was known as Chatur-Anga - Meaning 4 bodied, as it was played by
4 players. From this name we have its current name Shatranj.
4
Foster, K., ‘Developments in Sporting Law’, in L. Allison (ed.), The Changing Politics of Sport
(Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1993), 106
5
See Quirk, James & Rodney D. Fort, Pay Dirt: The Business of Professional Team Sports 3 (1992)
Electroniccopy
Electronic copyavailable
available at:
at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059
https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059
Moreover, now the trend is towards international sports providing a fresh area of thought
on the legal relationship between the teams, organizers and states in which the game is
played. The continuous interactions and involvement of varied aspects of contract,
competition, rules of the game, protecting olympism has resulted into various rules and
regulations, major part being regulated by customs. This necessitated for the
development of sports law. Sports law has developed along different lines of thought and
is not comprehensive one. The present paper argues the need for a comprehensive
legislation for regulating activities in sports both at national and international level so as
to maintain the professional spirit in sporting activities.
1.1 Sports for Development

The International Charter of Physical Education and Sport, UNESCO, 1978 states that:
“Every human being has a fundamental right of access to physical education and
sport, which are essential for the full development of his personality. The freedom
to develop physical, intellectual and moral powers through physical education and
sport must be guaranteed both within the educational system and in other aspects
of social life.”
The United Nations adopted the theme of “Sport for Development and Peace” in its
Agenda in 2001, which demonstrated the close linkage between Sports development and
Youth development, and Youth development and the achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals. Further, the United Nations General Assembly celebrated 2005 as
the “Year of Sport and Physical Education” thereby emphasizing the need to integrate
sport and physical education into the overall development agenda.
1.2 Sports as a Business Proposition

Sport is big business accounting for more than 3 per cent of world trade and 1 per cent of
the combined GNP of the 15 member states of the European Union (EU). In the EU
alone, some 2 million jobs directly and indirectly related to sport have been created. And
in the UK, annual consumer spending on sport has reached a staggering £12 billion6. The
stimulus for this attention has been the dramatic changes in the last decade within the
sport, not only in England but across Europe, with regard to radically improved economic
6
Blackshaw, Ian, ‘The Court of Arbitration for Sport: An International Forum for’ Settling Disputes
Effectively ‘Within the Family of Sport’, Entertainment Law, Vol.2, No.2, Summer 2003, pp.61–83, at 61
Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059

conditions and financial stealth. An example of this economic stealth was demonstrated
by the willingness of Sky Television to part with £1.1 billion in 2001 for a five year
contract for coverage rights of the FA Premier League7.
Recently, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has shows the real business potential of
sports. There are eight teams with their franchisees running the show. The BCCI has
earned $723.59m from the 'sale' of the eight teams. On top of that, the Board will get
around $1billion from the sale of TV rights to Sony Television and Singapore-based
World Sports Group. Sony Television and Singapore-based World Sports Group, who
paid a whopping $1billion to bag the rights for 10 years. The teams can even be listed on
the stock exchange8.
It is not surprising, therefore, with so much money at stake that sports disputes are also
on the increase. For example, in the UK some 19 million sports injuries occur each year
costing around £500 million in treatment and absence from work 9. But sports disputes
are not confined to personal injuries. They cover a wide range of claims, not least
commercial ones relating to, inter alia, sports sponsorship, endorsement, licensing,
merchandising, image rights and broadcasting arrangements10.
1.3 Development of ‘Sports Law’ from ‘Sports and Law’

Each sport has its own system of rules and regulations. There are two aspects of it, one
deal with the ‘rules of the game’ and the other ‘commercial aspects of the organization of
the sport’. Lately, the commercial development in the sports sector has blurred the
boundary between these two aspects11. The result has been the gradual juridification of
7
Magee, Jonathan, "When is a contract more than a contract? Professional football contracts and the
pendulum of power", Entertainment and Sports Law Journal, ISSN 1748-944X, October 2006, see
<http://go.warwick.ac.uk/eslj/issues/volume4/number2/magee/> last accessed on April 12, 2009.
8
See <http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1152110> last accessed on April 13, 2009.
9
Kevan, T., D. Adamson and S. Cottrell, Sports Personal Injury: Law and Practice (London: Sweet &
Maxwell, 2002)
10
Blackshaw, see supra note 5 at p 61.
11
See Parrish, Richard, ‘The Birth of European Union Sports Law’, Entertainment Law, Vol.2, No.2,
Summer 2003, pp.20–39, at 20

sport, a phenomenon which has accelerated academic interest in the idea of sport and the
law as an area of legal study12.
Established general legal principles deriving from the rule-led boundaries of modern law
have become applied to a growing number of sporting activities. Hence, criminal law,
contract law, the law of torts, public law, administrative law, property law, competition
law, EU law, company law, fiscal law and human rights law, have been applied to
sporting contexts involving public order, drugs, safety, disciplinary measures, conduct
and wider issues relating to restraint of trade, anticompetitive behaviour and the
commercial exploitation of sport13. According to Gardiner14, “The extent of the
relationship between sport and law has led some academics to extend their legal analysis
beyond the confines of sport and the law by identifying a distinct body of sports law”.
Discrete doctrines are gradually taking shape in the sporting field15.
However, there is different line of thinking which criticizes the development of this
separate branch of law. For instance, Grayson argues that ‘no subject exists which
jurisprudentially can be called sports law. As a sound-bite headline, shorthand
description, it has no juridical foundation; for common law and equity create no concept
of law exclusively relating to sport. Each area of law applicable to sport does not differ
from how it is found in any other social or jurisprudential category …’ 16. More colour is
added to this debate by internationalization of the sports law, where the issue is to
regulate cross-border activity in sports and interpretation of rules established by the
sports governing bodies governing relations between participants.
1.4 ‘International Sports Law’ versus ‘Global Sports Law’

Foster proposes a difference between ‘international sports law’ and ‘global sports law’
International sports law can be applied by national courts. Global sports law by contrast
implies a claim of immunity from national law17. International sports law can be defined
12
See Grayson, E., Sport and the Law, 2nd edn. (London: Butterworth, 1994)
13
Parrish, see supra note 11 at p 21.
14
Gardiner, S., Sports Law (London: Cavendish, 2001)
15
Beloff, M., T. Kerr and M. Demetriou, Sports Law (Oxford: Hart, 1999)
16
Grayson, see supra note 12.
17
Foster, K., ‘Is There a Global Sports Law?’, Entertainment Law, Vol.2, No.1, Spring 2003, pp.1–18, at 1.

as the principles of international law applicable to sport. One of the chief aspects of
international sports law is that it uses the jus commune, that is, the general principles of
international law18.
Global sports law, by contrast, may provisionally be defined as a transnational

autonomous legal order created by the private global institutions that govern international
sport19. It is a kind of sui generis set of principles created from transnational legal norms
generated by the rules, and the interpretation thereof, of international sporting
federations20. Its chief characteristics are first that it is a contractual order, with its
binding force coming from agreements to submit to the authority and jurisdiction of
international sporting federations, and second that it is not governed by national legal
systems. In the words of Houlihan, it is ‘sports without a State21.’
1.5 ‘Amateur’ versus ‘Professional Sports’

Amateur is a person who engages in an art, a science, a study, or an athletic activity as a
pastime rather than as a profession. Thus, in amateur sports the players do not play or
compete for money whereas in professional sports payment of money is the key factor.
Many times athletes are employees of the sports organizations. Initially, amateur sports
developed which became more organized in 19th Century giving birth to professional
18
Nafziger, J. ‘Globalizing Sports Law,’ Marquette Sports Law Journal 9 (1999), 225, 237; these
principles are part of international customary law – the jus commune. Mertens has listed principles such as
‘pacta sunt servanda,14 equity, the doctrine of proportionality, doctrines of personal liability, the
prohibition of unjust enrichment, and the doctrine of clausula rebus sic stantibus’. These are universal
principles of law that cannot be ignored by international sporting federations, and they can and should be
enforced by any available legal institution that has jurisdiction. Their universal character means that
international sporting federations are not free to apply or interpret them as they wish. See H.-J. Mertens,
‘Lex Mercatoria: A Self-Applying System beyond National Law?’ in G. Teubner, see infra note 20. The
Court of Arbitration for Sport in a recent arbitration [AEK Athens & Slavia Prague v. UEFA (Court of
Arbitration for Sport 98/200; award 20/08/99) para.188] said they comprised a major element of lex ludica:
all sporting institutions, and in particular all sporting federations, must abide by general principles
of law … Certainly, general principles of law drawn from a comparative or common denominator
reading of various legal systems and, in particular, the prohibition of arbitrary or unreasonable
rules and measures can be deemed to be part of such lex ludica.
19
Foster, see supra note 17.
20
In Teubner’s phrase truly a ‘global law without a state’. See Teubner, G. (ed.), Global Law Without a
State (Andover: Dartmouth, 1997)
21
Houilhan, B., ‘Governance, Globalisation and Sport’, paper presented at Anglia Polytechnic University
LLM Sports Law Seminar, November 1991. As in professional road cycling or Formula One motor racing,
where teams are named after corporate sponsors. IPL may be a recent example.

sports. Amateur sports play an important role in development of professional sports as
the athletes in professional sports come from amateur sports.
Sporting culture is especially strong in private schools and universities, and the upper and
middle class men who attend these institutions and play as amateurs. One of the
difference between amateur and professional sports relate to determination of coach’s
liability towards the athlete’s injury. In amateur sports, ‘implied assumption of risk
doctrine22’ serves to shield collegiate coaches and educational institutions from liability
for injuries to student-athletes. Whereas denying professional athletes a remedy for
negligent conduct of their coaches under the ‘assumption of risk’ doctrine is justified on
the basis that the professional athlete is compensated for their participation in sports as
employees. However, Ferguson argues that this line of distinction is blurring23.
Another issue relating to amateur sports is application of public law to its affairs
inasmuch as amateur sports is conducted under the guidance and policies of the State
though amateur sports body may be treated as private bodies24. Bottom-line is that “one
size fits all’ approach to regulation may no longer be viable; what happens at grass roots
levels or for amateur members of the sport may not be appropriate at the top levels of the
game. For those who face losing their right to earn a living more rigorous standards will
need to apply.”
1.6 Public Law and Sports– A ‘Judicial Review’ Perspective
Sports is not only limited to a private recreation activity but takes a public proposition as
it involves representation of a nation in international sports, issues like equal opportunity
to play and protection from racial discrimination is involved. Generally, the courts would
not interfere in the activities of sporting federations, but when their activity takes a
‘public function’ the doctrine of judicial review gets attracted.
22
According to the assumption of risk doctrine, one who knowingly and voluntarily places himself in a
dangerous situation assumes the inherent risk of the resulting harm.
23
Ferguson, Kenneth D., ‘Blurring the Boundary Lines between Amateur and Professional Sports’ UMKC
Law Review, Vol. 76: 643, 2008, at 644.
24
Koller, Dionne L. ‘Frozen In Time: The State Action Doctrine’s Application To Amateur Sports, St.
John’s Law Review, Vol. 82:183, 2008.

There are varying views on this aspect. In Nagle v. Feilden and Ors25., the Jockey Club
was entitled to issue licence enabling the persons to train horses meant for races. The
Respondent's application for grant of licence was rejected on the ground, that she was a
woman. The action of the Club which was otherwise a private club was struck down
holding that it exercises the function of licensing authority and controls the profession
and, thus, its actions are required to be judged and viewed by higher standards. It was
held that it cannot act arbitrarily.
In St. Johnstone Football Club Limited v. Scottish Football Association Limited26, a

Scottish Court held the Council with regard to its nature of function to the effect that it
can impose fine or expel a member would be amenable to judicial review. In Brentwood
Academy v. Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association27, the issue was as to
whether the respondent "which was incorporated to regulate interscholastic athletic
competition among public and private secondary schools" is engaged in state action when
it enforced one of its rules against a member school. It was held that the pervasive
entwinement of state school officials in the structure of the association would make it a
state actor.
The approach of the court as regard judicial review has undergone a sea change even in
England. The English Courts despite their reluctance to exercise power of judicial review
over the activities of sports association noticed in the context of Human Rights Act, 1998
that there are public bodies which are hybrid in nature who have functions of public and
private nature but they would be public authorities28.
In India, the minority view in Zee Telefilms Case29, supports judicial review by saying
“the right of Indian players, having regard to the observations made in Geirg and Ors30 is
comparable to their constitutional right contained in Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution
of India which would include a right to work and a right to pursue one's occupation.
25
[1966 (2) QB 633]
26
[1965 SLT 171]
27
[531 US 288]; also see Koller, Dionne I., ‘Does the Constitution Apply to the Actions of the United
States Anti-Doping Agency?’ Saint Louis University Law Journal, Vol. 50:91, 2005
28
Poplar Housing and Regeneration Community Association Ltd. v. Donoghue (2001) 3 W.L.R. 183
29
Zee Telefilms case, infra note 117 , para 151
30
Greig and Ors. v. Insole and Ors. [1978] 1 W.L.R. 302

1.6.1 Gender Equity – Constitution speaks of equality and no one can be discriminated
on the basis of sex only. This issue was raised in USA and because there was no
assurance of equal opportunity in the range of components of education, Congress
enacted Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 197231. This federal law stipulates
that:
No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from
participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under
any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance32.
1.6.2 Racial Discrimination – Human Rights – All national and sports federations
recognize prohibition of racial discrimination and vouch for protection of Human Rights.
The courts in England which were reluctant to intervene in the matter of sports did so
when there was question of violation of human rights. In Zee Telefilms 33, the court
observed that “even a hybrid body is bound to protect human rights as it cannot be
violated even by such a body. The Board which has the pervasive control over the entire
sport of cricket including the participants as well as spectators cannot apparently act in
violation of human rights.”
1.7 Budding Sports Law Jurisprudence

Recently, various authors have argued for the distinctiveness of ‘international sports law’
but in doing so they describe it as ‘lex sportiva’34.
Lex sportiva for Beloff has three main elements:
31
20 U.S.C. §1681 et seq. (1972)
32
Block, Walter, Roy Whitehead, and Lu Hardin, “Gender Equity in Athletics: Should We Adopt a Non-
Discriminatory Model?,” The University of Toledo Law Review, Vol. 30, No. 2, Winter 1999, pp. 223-249;
also see Brake, Deborah L., ‘The Invisible Pregnant Athlete and the Promise of Title IX’, Harvard Journal
of Law & Gender Vol. 31:323, 2008 (discusses Title IX’s Response).
33
Zee Telefilms, see infra note 117 … para 184.
34
Beloff, M., T. Kerr and M. Demetriou, Sports Law (Oxford: Hart, 1999); see also A. Caiger and S.
Gardiner (eds.), Professional Sport in the EU: Regulation and Re-Regulation (The Hague: Asser Press,
2000), 301–3, where they write of a ‘distinct lex sportiva’. Maclearn says that this is ‘a term coined by the
Acting General Secretary of Court of Arbitration for Sport, Matthieu Reeb, at the time of the publishing of
the first digest of Court of Arbitration for Sport decisions stretching over the period from 1983-1998’. ‘The
court of arbitration for sport: an independent arena for the worlds sports disputes’, Valparasio Law Review
(2001), 379 at fn.11. Teubner, however, quotes a 1990 source, G. Simon, Puissance sportive et ordre
juridique etatique (Paris: 1990), in idem, ‘“Global Bukowina”: Legal Pluralism in the World Society’, in
Teubner (note 20).

 it has transnational norms generated by the rules and practices of international
sporting federations,
 it has a unique jurisprudence, with legal principles that are different from those of
national courts, and which is declared by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and
 it is constitutionally autonomous from national law.
He says that that the foundation principle, the ‘cornerstone’ of lex sportiva, is to allow
‘autonomy for decision making bodies in sport’ and to establish a ‘constitutional
equilibrium’ between courts and sports federations35.
In particular to describe what is happening with the globalisation of sports law as lex
sportiva is to imply that international sporting federations are legally immune from
regulation by national legal systems. This allows the private regimes of international
sporting federations, such as the IOC or FIFA, to be legally unaccountable except by
arbitration systems established and validated by those very same private regimes36.
2 INTERNATIONAL SPORTS FEDERATIONS AND LAW
The globalisation of sport has moved the focus of legal regulation increasingly onto
international sports federations. These organisations control and govern international
sport. They have rulebooks and constitutions. They take decisions that can have
profound effects on the careers of players and that have important economic
consequences. They are autonomous organisations and are independent of national
governments. How they are governed and how their activities are regulated are key
questions37. Let us examine the working of few such international sports federation.
2.1 The International Football Federation (FIFA)

Football is one of the most played games in the world. The Fédération Internationale de
Football Association (FIFA) is an association governed by Swiss law38 founded in 1904
and based in Zurich. It has 208 member associations and its goal, enshrined in its
35
Beloff, see supra note 34
36
Foster, see supra note 17 at p 3.
37
Foster, see supra note 17 at 1.
38
Art. 60 ff. of the Swiss Civil Code.

Statutes, is the constant improvement of football39. The FIFA Statutes and the
accompanying regulations governing their implementation form the Constitution of
football's international governing body. They provide the basic laws for world football,
on which countless rules are set for competitions, transfers, doping issues and a host of
other concerns. FIFA statute represents a multilateral treaty. FIFA has its separate legal
committee40.
2.2 The International Cricket Council (ICC)

Cricket is one of the most popular games in the world. ICC started with its modest
beginning in 1909 with Imperial Cricket Conference followed by International Cricket
Conference and then ICC from 1989. Members of ICC are subject to its rules and
regulations41 just like WTO members are subject to WTO rules. The rules of ICC not
only applies to the playing conditions and pitch and outfield monitoring process, but has
a host of rules and regulations to take care of ICC classification of official cricket, code
of conduct for players, umpires and development program events. There are dispute
resolution procedures for reviewing umpiring decisions and provides for breaches and
penalties. It is interesting to note that ICC follows the principles of natural justice in its
decision.
The rules of natural justice are the minimum standards of fair decision-making
imposed on persons or bodies acting in a judicial capacity. Where the relevant
person or body is required to determine questions of law or fact in circumstances
where its decisions will have a direct impact on the rights or legitimate
expectations of the individuals concerned, an implied obligation to observe the
principles of natural justice arises.
In cases of breach of principles of natural justice the person charged may seek a review of
the hearing and/or decision in the courts42. ICC has recently come up with its anti-doping
39
See <http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/federation/index.html> last accessed on April 12, 2009.
40
Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi is member of the eleven-member legal committee of FIFA.
41
There are 104 members of ICC, which includes 10 full members (India became a full member in 1926);
34 associate members and 60 affiliate members. See <http://icc-cricket.yahoo.net/about-icc/rules-
regulations.html> last accessed on April 8, 2009.
42
See <http://l.yimg.com/t/icccricket/pdfs/natural_justice.pdf> last accessed on April 12, 2009. The
aforesaid ‘principles of natural justice’ of ICC was referred by Justice S.B. Sinha in his dissenting opinion
in Zee Telefilms Case, see infra note 117… at para 240
10

code effective from January 1, 2009. ICC also adheres to an anti-racism code of
conduct43.
2.3 The International Olympic Committee (IOC)

The IOC was created on 23 June 1894 and the 1st Olympic Games of the modern era
opened in Athens on 6 April 1896. The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute
to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practiced
without discrimination or any kind, in a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play44.
Olympic games are organized by Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games
(OCOG). However, the Games are the exclusive property of the IOC, which has the last
word on any question related to them. The IOC plays a supervisory and support role; in
other words, it controls the organization of the Games, ensures they run successfully, and
checks that the principles and rules of the Olympic Charter are observed.
The Olympic Charter (OC) is the codification of the Fundamental Principles of

Olympism45, Rules and Bye-Laws adopted by the International Olympic Committee
(IOC). It governs the organization, action and operation of the Olympic Movement and
sets forth the conditions for the celebration of the Olympic Games46. This charter also
serves as the principal document to find out the respective legal obligations of IOC, the
international federations and national Olympic committees. IOC also has its own anti-
doping rules.
43
See <http://l.yimg.com/t/icccricket/pdfs/anti-racism-code.pdf> last accessed on April 12, 2009 - ICC and
all of its Members shall publicize and implement the following policy statement:
“Spectators shall not engage in any conduct, act towards or speak to any player, umpire, referee
or other official or other spectators in a manner which offends, insults, humiliates, intimidates,
threatens, disparages or vilifies that other person on the basis of that other person’s race,
religion, colour, national or ethnic origin.”
Harbhajan Singh (Australia v India, 2nd January 2008, Sydney Cricket Ground ) was charged with Level 3
breach of code 3.3 - Using language or gestures that offends, insults, humiliates, intimidates, threatens,
disparages or vilifies another person on the basis of that person's race, religion, gender, colour, descent or
national or ethnic origin. Action - cleared of all racial charges on appeal and was instead charged with a
Level 2.8 offence - Using language that is obscene, offensive or of a seriously insulting nature to another
Player, umpire, Referee, Team Official or spectator and was fined with 50 percent of match fees. [Referee:
Mike Procter (Appeals Commissioner - Justice John Hansen)]
44
See <http://www.olympic.org/uk/organisation/movement/index_uk.asp> last accessed on April 8, 2009
45
Olympism is a state of mind based on equality of sports which are international and democratic.
46
See <http://multimedia.olympic.org/pdf/en_report_122.pdf> last accessed on April 8, 2009
11

2.4 International Basketball Federation (FIBA)
FIBA is an association of national organizations which governs international competition
in basketball47. FIBA has its ‘rules of the game’ which includes Referees’ Manual and
draft score-sheet. FIBA is governed for General Statutes48 which prescribes for
membership of FIBA, organization of FIBA which includes a ‘Legal Commission’ under
Article 21 of the Statute49. Chapter 7 specifically deals with the Legal Provisions which
prescribe for a FIBA Disciplinary Panel which has been established to deal with
disciplinary matters as provided in the Internal Regulations 50. Appeal from this lies to
FIBA Appeals’ Tribunal and further any dispute arising from these General Statutes or
the Internal Regulations of FIBA will be settled by Court of Arbitration for Sport,
Lausanne, Switzerland.
2.5 International Tennis Federation (ITF)

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the world governing body of tennis, one of
the few truly global sports51. The administering and regulation of the game through 205
National Associations affiliated to the ITF, together with six Regional Associations is one
of the five areas of the sport which ITF looks at52. The ITF is responsible for the Rules of
Tennis, including the technical specifications for courts and equipment and the
47
The association was founded in Geneva in 1932, two years after the sport was officially recognized by
the IOC.
48
See <http://www.fiba.com/downloads/Regulations/Gen_Stat_E_2006.pdf> last accessed on April 8,
2009.
49
Article 21 The Legal Commission
The Legal Commission shall have the following duties:
a. To provide independent and impartial advice on all legal matters concerning the practice of
basketball worldwide;
b. To study the legal implications of all proposed amendments to the General Statutes of FIBA;
c. To draft the official text of the Internal Regulations, together with the other bodies concerned,
and to finalise this text before submitting it to the Central Board for approval; and
d. To advise the Secretary General and the Central Board on matters pertaining to the
interpretation of the current General Statutes, Internal Regulations and all other matters, in
particular eligibility.
50
See <http://www.fiba.com/downloads/Regulations/Internal_Regulations_2008.pdf> last accessed on
April 12, 2009.
51
See <http://www.itftennis.com/abouttheitf/abouttheitf/index.asp> last accessed on April 12, 2009. The
ITF has 205 member National Associations - more than most other international sporting federations.
Member nations come from every continent, and each association is involved in organising tennis and
promoting the interests of the game.
52
The other four areas being Organising international competitions, Structuring the game by sanctioning
international circuits and events, developing the game and promoting the game.
12

certification of tennis officials such as chair umpires. It also participates in the running
and enforcement of an anti-doping program with the ATP and WTA Tour.
2.6 International Swimming Federation (FINA)

Federation Internationale De Natation (FINA) is an international federation of
swimming related sports and has varied objectives including promotion and encouraging
the development of Swimming in all possible manifestations throughout the world;
providing drug free sport; promotion and development of international relations; and
adoption of necessary uniform rules and regulations to hold competitions in Swimming,
Open Water Swimming, Diving, Water Polo, Synchronised Swimming, and Masters53.
FINA emphasizes not allow any discrimination against national Federations or
individuals (competitors, officials, judges, delegates, etc.) on the grounds of race, sex,
religion, or political affiliations.
2.7 International Equestrian Federation (FEI)

The FEI (Fédération Equestre Internationale) is the sole representative of Horsesport at
the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee where
the FEI promotes the Olympic and Paralympic equestrian ideals 54. It is an Association
established and organized in accordance with Articles 60 et seq. of the Swiss civil code.
Any dispute in relation to FEI should lie to FEI Tribunal55. Particularly, the tribunal may
review and decide upon any matter involving abuse of horses. The Court of Arbitration
for Sport (CAS) shall judge all Appeals properly submitted to it against Decisions of the
FEI Tribunal, as provided in the Statutes and General Regulations56. There is also a
provision of civil actions against the FEI and shall be brought before the courts of
competent jurisdiction in Lausanne, Switzerland, subject to the matters which shall be
referred to arbitration under the Statutes.
2.8 International Hockey Federation (IHF)
53
See <http://www.fina.org/project/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=42&Itemid=119> last
accessed on April 12, 2009.
54
See <http://www.fei.org/Rules/Documents/Statutes%20-%2022nd%20ed%202007%20-%2015April2007
,%20updated%2021November2008.pdf> last accessed on April 12, 2009.
55
Art. 34.1 of FEI Statutes 22nd edition, effective 15 April 2007, updated 21 November 2008
56
Art 35.1 of FEI Statutes, id.
13

Hockey is one of the oldest games57 and is National game of India58. However, as most
of the international sports federations IHF has its official seat at Lausanne, Switzerland.
Apart from the promotion and administration of the game internationally, IHF Exercise
jurisdiction over and to determine disputes or disagreements between Members, between
Continental Federations (CFs), between Members and CFs, between Athletes and FIH
and between Athletes and a CF59. IHF has an independent Judicial Commission of the
federation to resolve disputes60. Further, any person or body who is or which is subject to
a decision of the JC may appeal to the CAS, to the exclusion of any other jurisdiction,
whether ordinary or arbitrational, in accordance with the Code of Sports-related
Arbitration (appeals arbitration proceedings)61.
A brief analysis of the aforesaid International Sports Federations show that they are
private bodies governing a specific area of sports. Each federation is independent in its
sphere and is free to form its ‘rules of game’ and internal regulations. They have broad
authority to impose discipline, resolve disputes, and make decisions consistent with the
“best interests of the game”. Thus making them regulators in the specific sport. For
example ICC is the international regulator for the game of the cricket. Though there is no
express ban on having another international organization on the same lines, but who is
ready to form that when one already exists62. Be as it may, it is not the subject of
examination in this paper.
57
The roots of hockey are buried deep in antiquity. Historical records show that a crude form of hockey
was played in Egypt 4,000 years ago and in Ethiopia around 1,000 BC. See <http://www.fihockey.org> last
accessed on April 12, 2009.
58
India is a member of IHF.
59
Article 18 of the Statutes and Bye Law of FIH (updated November 2008)
60
JC is vested with the full power and authority to hear and determine all complaints, protests, claims and
disputes in all matters including:
(i) breaches of the Statutes, Bye-Laws, Rules or Regulations;
(ii) disputes between the FIH and a Member or between the FIH and a third party;
(iii) disputes between Members or between a Member and a third party;
(iv) breaches of the FIH Anti-Doping Regulations, the Code of Conduct, the Code of Ethics or any
other FIH Regulation or Code;
(v) acts of misconduct on or off the field of play;
(vi) appeals brought pursuant to the Statutes and Bye-Laws of a Continental Federation;
(vii) complaints or protests arising out of an event; and
(viii) matters referred to it by the Congress or the Executive Board for determination.
61
Article 21 of the Statutes and Bye Law of FIH (updated November 2008)
62
Mr. K.K. Venugopal made a similar argument in Zee Telefilms (infra note 117 para 3) - “It enjoys that
monopoly status only by virtue of its first mover advantage and its continuance as the solitary player in the
14

At times the question arises as to what level freedom can be given to these international
federations in regulating a specific area of sport, moreso when it imposes a ban on a
particular player, organization to participate in the international sports. Generally, these
sporting bodies are given a free hand in regulation of sport63. The requirement is being
‘fair’ in their procedures64.
However in other areas the Courts, especially the European Courts, have not shown any
reticence in becoming involved in sporting issues65. The well-known case which resulted
in football’s ‘Bosman Ruling’, Union Royal Belge Des Societes De Football Association
66
Asbl & Ors V Jean-Marc Bosman & Ors , demonstrated that when the rules of sports’
regulators relate to economic activity (and not to matters, rules or events which are of an
exclusively sporting nature) the Courts are prepared to intervene. This intervention,
however, was very limited and did not extend to each and every case67. In the cases of
doping, the aggrieved athletes, seeking the involvement of the Court, have argued that
bans (after doping offences) are economic in nature and the European laws relating to
field of cricket control. He also submitted that there is no law which prohibits the coming into existence of
any other parallel organisation.”
63
R v Disciplinary Committee of the Jockey Club ex parte Aga Khan [1993] 1 WLR 909 (The idea that the
regulation of sport should be kept out of the Courts was laid down in this case); recently, in Flaherty v
National Greyhound Racing Club [2005] EWCA Civ 1117, Court of Appeal suggested that sporting bodies
should be given as free a hand as possible to run their own disciplinary processes. This case involved the
administration of a banned substance to a greyhound. This was in breach of the rules of racing which by
which the greyhound owner was bound under his contact as a member of the NGRC. A similar issue arose
in the case of R (on the application of Mullins) v Appeal Board of the Jockey Club [2005] EWHC 2197,
where the High Court decided that decisions made by the Appeal Board of the Jockey Club were not
amenable to judicial review. Again the case related to breaches of the rules of a sporting club; the trainer’s
horse had been disqualified from a race after morphine was found in a sample of the horse’s urine. Both
judgments made it clear that the Court’s approach was that the ‘rules of the game’ were contractual matters
between clubs and their members and not issues with which the Courts should interfere.
64
See McInnes v Onslow Fane [1978] 1 WLR 1520
65
Ellson, Sarah and Matthew Lohn, ‘Whose Rules are we playing by?’, Entertainment and Sports Law
Journal, ISSN 1748-944X, January 2006, see <http://go.warwick.ac.uk/eslj/issues/volume3/number2/
ellson_lohn/> last accessed on April 8, 2009.
66
[1996] ECJ 15/12/1996 - In that case the European Court of Justice ruled that European law precluded
the application of rules laid down by sporting associations under which professional sportsmen and women
could not transfer to a club of another Member State unless the latter club had paid to the former club a
transfer, training or development fee.
67
In Wilander and Novacek v Tobin and Jude [1997] 2 CMLR 346, the International Tennis Federation’s
rules were found to be valid and not to amount to restraint of trade and for contravening the provisions of
Art.59 of the EC Treaty.
15

freedom of economic activity should apply, but their plea was turned down. In the words
of Lightman J:
The rules merely regulated the sporting conduct of participants in
athletics; they were designed to ban cheating in the form of drug-taking
and thus secure a level playing field for all. The imposition of penalties
was essential for the effectiveness of the rules, and whilst the imposition
of the sanction may have serious economic consequences on the person
who had broken the rules, this was a mere incidental and inevitable by-
product of the rule against cheating68.
In Meca-Medina and Majcen v European Commission69 the Court made it clear that
provided that the rules remained limited to this proper objection (safeguarding the spirit
of fair play) they would not cease to be purely sporting rules not withstanding that the
sanctions (lengthy participation bans) for particular athletes found guilty would
undoubtedly affect their economic freedoms. Thus, these international federations play a
key role and are truly ‘self-regulated’ regulators with minimum intervention by courts.
3. INTERNATIONAL SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS
Other than the above discussed game-specific international federations, there are
international organizations which deal with one or the other area of sports and
prominently are the International Association of Sports Law, the World Anti-Doping
Agency (WADA) and international sports dispute resolution forum (CAS).
3.1 International Association of Sports Law (IASL)

IASL is an international scientific association founded during the 1st International
Congress on Sports Law70. The objective of IASL is the cultivation and the development
of the Science, the research and the teaching of Sports Law and the institution of the
Olympic Games. The studies, the collection of the international sports jurisprudence,
programming and consultative in the legislative, administrative, organizational and
68
Paul Michael Edwards v The British Athletic Federation and The International Amateur Athletic
Federation [1998] 2 CMLR 363 (unreported).
69
[2004] CFI 30/9/04 - the role of the International Olympic Commission was considered
70
Held on December 11-13, 1992 in Athens and seated in Olympia, Greece. See
<http://iasl.org/pages/en/about_iasl.php> last accessed on March 30, 2009.
16

practical section of Sports Law and the institution of the Olympic Games, are the aims of
the Association71.
3.2 Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is an institution independent of any sports
organization which provides for services in order to facilitate the settlement of sports-
related disputes through arbitration or mediation by means of procedural rules adapted to
the specific needs of the sports world72. The awards made by CAS is enforceable just
like judgments of ordinary courts. Appeal from the award of CAS can be allowed on
limited number of grounds such as lack of jurisdiction, violation of elementary
procedural rules (e.g. violation of the right to a fair hearing) or incompatibility with
public policy, to Swiss Federal Tribunal. CAS also establishes ad-hoc tribunals for
resolution of disputes in games like Olympics and commonwealth games.
Any disputes directly or indirectly linked to sport may be submitted to the CAS. These
may be disputes of a commercial nature (e.g. a sponsorship contract), or of a disciplinary
nature following a decision by a sports organization (e.g. a doping case). Further, any
individual or legal entity with capacity to act may have recourse to the services of the
CAS. These include athletes, clubs, sports federations, organisers of sports events,
sponsors or television companies. CAS gets the jurisdiction from the clause in the
agreement and statutes specifying that any dispute to be resolved through CAS.
Unlike common law judicial precedent, “in CAS jurisprudence there is no principle of
binding precedent, or stare decisis73.” Nevertheless, although the CAS is an arbitral
tribunal and the majority of its arbitrators have a civil law background, it is ironic that
CAS awards are forming a body of lex sportiva74. Different panels of CAS arbitrators
71
IASL members may be natural and/or legal persons actively participating in the research, teaching and
practical application of Sports Law as well as the institution of the Olympic Games
72
See <http://www.tas-cas.org> last accessed on April 15, 2009. (The CAS was created in 1984 and is
placed under the administrative and financial authority of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport
(ICAS) based in Lausanne, Switzerland. The CAS has nearly 300 arbitrators from 87 countries, chosen for
their specialist knowledge of arbitration and sports law. Around 200 cases are registered by the CAS every
year.)
73
Arbitration CAS 2004/A/628, IAAF v. USA Track and Field & Jerome Young, award of 28 June 2004 at 18
74
Mitten, Mathew J. and Timothy Davis, ‘Athlete Eligibility Requirements and Legal Protection of Sports
Participation Opportunities’, Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1189498; also see Allan
17

(like appellate courts) may reach different conclusions regarding the meaning of a rule
and its application in a particular case75. But it is prudent that a CAS Panel will
obviously try, if the evidence permits, to come to the same conclusion on matters of law
as a previous CAS Panel.
3.3 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA):

As set forth in the preamble of the World Anti-Doping Code (Code), the purposes of the
World Anti-Doping Program are:
 To protect the Athletes’ fundamental right to participate in doping-free sport and
thus promote health, fairness, and equality for Athletes worldwide; and
 To ensure harmonized, coordinated, and effective anti-doping programs at the
international and national level with regard to detection, deterrence, and
prevention of doping.
As such, the World Anti-Doping Program encompasses all of the elements needed to
ensure optimal harmonization and best practice in international and national anti-doping
programs, and specifies the responsibilities of its stakeholders76.
The Copenhagen Declaration on Anti-Doping in Sport (Copenhagen Declaration) is a

political document through which governments signal their intention to formally
recognize and implement the World Anti-Doping Code. The Copenhagen Declaration
was finalized by governments at the World Conference on Doping in Sport in
Copenhagen in March 2003. To date, 192 governments have signed the Copenhagen
Declaration.
4. ISSUES IN SPORTS LAW
There are several issues in development of sports law like doping-testing and procedures,
team selection, competition qualification and hiring and firing of coaches and trainers are
Erbsen, The Substance and Illusion of Lex Sportiva, in The Court of Arbitration for Sport 1984-2004 441
(Ian S. Blackshaw, Robert C.R. Siekmann & Janwillem Soek eds. 2006) (concluding that it is inaccurate to
describe collective body of CAS awards as lex sportive)
75
Advisory Opinion CAS 2005/C/976 & 986, FIFA & WADA Advisory Opinion, 21 Apr. 2006, ¶84 at 31
(observing that different CAS panels may have a “different understanding” when applying same fault
standard in doping cases)
76
See <http://www.wada-ama.org/en/dynamic.ch2?pageCategory.id=391> last accessed on April 15, 2009
18

just a few critical areas that not long ago were subject to the paternalistic quirks of sports
administrators who refused to brook disobedience or dissent from their players77. The
time has changed and there are various issues emerging from the activity of sports around
the world.
4.1 Contractual Issues

Sport associations are using contracts more and more frequently, not only in business
affairs but also in areas of employment and programming. For example, coaches sign
employment contracts; athletes sign participation contracts with the sport association as
well as with major Games organizations; organizations, suppliers and athletes sign
sponsorship agreements; and participants in recreational sport sign waivers (a form of
contract). These contracts cover everything from conduct and discipline to selection
processes and money issues78. General principles of contract apply to such contracts.
4.1.1 Contract of Employment

Sports have definitely taken a commercial turn. At the center of this commercial turn is
the athlete (player), whose value is his or her image over which the athlete has complete
ownership79. Originally, the respective obligations of the athlete and the organization
were written down in agreements that specified and addressed details, such as conduct
matters, compliance with rules of the organization, training commitments and reporting
expectations called agreement of Athlete Assistance Program (AAP)80.
More recently however, and depending on the sport and its commercial appeal, these
standard-form agreements have evolved into full-fledged commercial contracts exceeding
75 pages in some cases. The typical Athlete Agreement now also includes complex
commercial transactions relating to the athlete's publicity and image rights, and how these
77
See Melnitzer, Julius, ‘This Sporting Life: Amateur Sports’, Canadian Lawyer, March 1999, at p. 22
78
‘Some Basics on Contracts’ Coaches Report - Fall 1996, Volume 3 Number 2, Centre for Sport and Law,
<http://www.sportlaw.ca/articles/contracts_athleteagreement.php> last accessed on March 30, 2009
79
See ‘A New View of Athlete Agreements’, Coaches Plan - Fall 2006, Volume 13 Number 2, Centre for
Sport and Law available at <http://www.sportlaw.ca/articles/contracts_athleteagreement.php> last accessed
on March 30, 2009.
80
It is position in US, where the government's Athlete Assistance Program (AAP), a funding program that
provides modest stipends to athletes to offset training costs. The obligations were very clear and the
Agreements were transparent. Also see McCann, Michael A. and Joseph S. Rosen, Legality of the Age
Restrictions in the NBA and the NFL, 56 Case Western Reserve Law Review, 2006
19

can be leveraged by sport federations, sponsors and host committees. In some cases
athletes are asked to forfeit certain rights in perpetuity. Not surprisingly, few athletes
have the knowledge or the financial capacity to negotiate a commercial contract, but they
are told explicitly by their federations (and implicitly by the government of Canada,
which requires the Athlete Agreement as a condition of funding) that they need to sign
these agreements to obtain their much-needed AAP financial support81. There are issues
relating to affirmative injunctions where the athlete is prohibited from playing from
another club on leaving the former club82.
4.2 Competition Law

In US like many other sectors of the national economy, professional sports have faced
antitrust scrutiny—but arguably no other sector has faced a more haphazard application83,
specifically the five major professional sports84. For instance, in recent years leagues
have faced challenges to restrictions on television broadcasts and the unilateral
implementation of league-wide labor polices.
The issue under competition law/antitrust law relates to treatment of professional leagues
as ‘single entity’ so as to protect it from Section 1 of the Sherman Act which prohibits
“every contract, combination . . . or conspiracy… in restraint of trade.” To single entities
Section 2 applies which prohibits monopolization of an industry by a single legal entity
and is difficult to establish85.
4.3 Organizational Issues
81
Id. - The rationale for pursuing such integrated marketing enterprises is that sport organizations provide
direct and indirect support to athletes by financing coaches, trainers, medical staff, training camps,
equipment, travel and accommodation, and competitive opportunities.
82
Rapp, Geoffrey C., ‘Affirmative Injunctions in Athletic Employment Contracts: Rethinking the Place of
the Lumley Rule in American Sports Law’, 16 Marquette Sports Law Review 261 (2006)
83
See Jonathan C. Tyras, Players Versus Owners: Collective Bargaining and Antitrust After Brown v. Pro
Football, Inc., 1 U. Pa. J. Lab. & Emp. L. 297, 310 (1998) (“Although baseball has enjoyed some degree of
exemption from Sherman Act liability, courts have not provided a similar luxury to other forms of
entertainment or even to other sports.”
84
The five major professional sports are Major League Baseball (“MLB”), the National Basketball
Association (“NBA”), the National Football League (“NFL”), the National Hockey League (“NHL”), and
Major League Soccer (“MLS”)
85
For a detailed discussion on this issue see Grow, Nathaniel, There’s No “I” in “League”: Professional
Sports Leagues and the Single Entity Defense, Michigan Law Review, Vol. 105:183, October 2006
20

The greatest issue in sports leagues is to reconcile the competing interests of
clubs/franchisees while maintaining the spirit of sport. There are issues as to which
league design to be followed so as to avoid the antitrust laws86.
4.4 Intellectual Property

There are various intellectual property issues associated with sports, one of the reasons
being sports are popular and is an effective tool for brand marketing.
4.4.1 Right to Publicity

The right of publicity is a doctrine frequently employed by athletes or celebrities in
lawsuits. Usually involving the likeness of a famous person, a common law cause of
action for right of publicity arises where one appropriates the commercial value of
another's identity or likeness without consent87. The right of publicity doctrine first
appeared, in Haelan Laboratories, Inc. v. Topps Chewing Gum, Inc., as an offspring of
the right of privacy cause of action88. In Zacchini v. Scripps-Howard Broadcasting89
Zacchini, a human cannonball performer sued a local television station over its
videotaping and airing of Zacchini's act after he explicitly prohibited the station from
doing so. Although the appellate court ruled for the television station, the Court sided
with Zacchini, reasoning that protection of the plaintiff's "right of publicity" prevents
unjust enrichment by the theft of good will90.
4.4.2 Fantasy Sports
86
See Ross, Stephen F. and Stefan Szymanski, ‘the Law & Economics of Optimal Sports League Design’,
Illinois Public Law and Legal Theory Research Papers Series, Working Paper No. 03-14, September 30,
2003, available at <http://papers.ssrn.com/pape.tar?abstract_id=452861> last accessed on April 16, 2009
(Article critically analyze the legal and economic implications of the prevailing choice of sports league
design and to suggest an alternative more likely to promote efficiency, and to avoid cartel-like
inefficiencies)
87
See Levine, Jeffrey F., ‘Meeting the Challenges of International Brand Expansion in Professional Sports:
Intellectual Property Right Enforcement in China through Treaties, Chinese Law and Cultural
Mechanisms,’ 9 Texas Review of Entertainment & Sports Law 203
88
Haelan Labs. v. Tops Chewing Gum, Inc., 202 F.2d 866 (2d Cir. 1953) in this case the Second Circuit
held that New York's common law protected a famous individual's right in the publicity value of their
likeness in a photograph. The court noted that it would be unfair for prominent individuals, such as athletes
and celebrities, to be deprived of the opportunity to make money by permitting others to use their
likenesses in advertising without permission.
89
Zacchini v. Scripps-Howard Broad. Co., 433 U.S. 562, 563-64 (1977).
90
At present many state jurisdictions have codified the right of publicity by creating statutes reflecting the
public policy rationale that a person has a right to control the commercial appropriation of their identity.
21

Recently, there was an issue of conflicting rights of online fantasy games (freedom of
imagination) and publicity rights of Baseball players in the case of C.B.C. Distribution and
Marketing, Inc. v. Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P.91. The publicity right
owners of players claimed that a fantasy game cannot use the names of the players as it is
protected by publicity rights and is a copyright infringement92.
4.5 Copyright
In the case of National Basketball Association (NBA) v Motorola and STATS (New York)
Second Circuit Court of Appeals, USA93, the American National Basketball Association
(NBA) sued Motorola for transmitting real-time information about basketball matches
with a two-minute delay to users of Motorola's "Sports Trax" device, a hand-held pager
that displayed updated scores and statistics of NBA games as they were played. The
issue was whether the unauthorized transmission of "real-time" information on matches
in progress constituted an infringement of the event organizer's copyright or property
right. It was held that neither the pager nor the Internet transmission could be seen as
being in competition with the first two products of the NBA, i.e. attending matches
organized by the NBA and following a live broadcast and hence there was no breach of
copyright or property rights.
4.6 Trademark
A trademark is a word, name, symbol, device or any combination thereof which is used to
distinguish the goods of one manufacturer from those manufactured or sold by others and
to indicate the origin of the goods. In assessing the NFL's trade mark dilution claim, the
Court recognized that the NFL trade mark was famous and that modifying it by linking it
to the word "players" would increase the likelihood of the NFL trade mark losing its
function as a unique symbol or identifier94.
91
443 F. Supp. 2d 1077 (E.D. Mo. 2006)
92
See Holte, Ryan T., ‘The Freedom To Imagine Fantasy Sports: Applying New Ideas In Copyright Law
To Professional Athletes’ Right Of Publicity, Journal, Copyright Society of the U.S.A., 201, May 2007
93
480 US 941 (1987)
94
In National Football League v Coors Brewing Co. (99 Civ. 4627 at 496, SDNY, 4 August 1999)
22

These are new emerging areas and sports bodies are new to doing business with the
private sector and have much to learn about marketing, licensing, sponsorship and other
intellectual property issues.
4.7 The Problem of Doping:

‘Doping’ is a problem writ large in sports. There are various issues involved with this
problem. WADA has come up with anti-doping code which all major federations are
adhering to and have come up with their own anti-doping legislations. There are issues
like implementation of whereabouts requirements, analysis of samples, results
management and management of therapeutic use exemption (TUE).
4.8 Violence at Sports - Sports Injury

Violence has been associated with sports since the ancient Greeks and Romans engaged
in combative rituals95. However, centuries later, society remains unable to find a way to
effectively extricate unnecessary violence from the sports it enjoys so much. Recent
decades have witnessed the evolution of civil lawsuits between sports participants for
tortious actions96. The success of civil lawsuits, although somewhat limited, represents
an encouraging sign that society is willing to hold sports participants accountable for
their actions. Commentators have been quick to devise non-prosecution oriented
methods of curbing sports violence, including the implementation of self-regulation by
sports leagues, the creation of a sports arbitration court, and the establishment of a federal
professional sports violence commission. However, recently there are arguments
advanced for a criminal liability regime97.
4.9 Dispute Resolution
95
See Bradley C. Nielsen, Note, Controlling Sports Violence: Too Late for the Carrots — Bring on the Big
Stick, 74 Iowa L. Rev. 681, 694 (1989) (explaining that legislators did not want to spend federal funds to
control sports violence).
96
Yates, Jeff and William Gillespie, ‘the Problem of Sports Violence and the Criminal Prosecution
Solution’, Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy, Vol. 12:145, 2002; See Gary Norman Jahn,
Comment, Civil Liability: An Alternative to Violence in Sporting Events, 15 Ohio N.U. L. Rev. 243, 244–
49 (1988); See, e.g., Cameron Jay Rains, Note, Sports Violence: A Matter of Societal Concern, 55 Notre
Dame L. Rev. 796 (1980).
97
See Lassiter, Christo, ‘Lex Sportiva: Thoughts Towards A Criminal Law Of Competitive Contact Sport,
22 St. John’s J. Legal Comm. 35 (2007)
23

Findlay says “litigation creates irreparable harm in the closely knit amateur sports
community, where the stakeholders can only work together effectively with a high degree
of trust98.” Litigation is not the answer. During a hearing in federal court of a petition
for a TRO against the suspensions, counsel for the NBA explained the significance of
Rule 12A,
It is the swift discipline, the swift punishment that is absolutely essential not only
to prevent players tomorrow night from engaging in the same kind of conduct, but
to preserve really the essence and integrity of the game, to assure the fans that this
game is going to be played according to a set of rules99.
Thus dispute resolution in sports is preferred to be in-house (that is within the sports
community). Negotiation, arbitration and mediation are the effective tools. Fairness is
the key-word for the arbitrators, negotiators and mediators.
5. SPORTS LAW IN INDIA
Encouragement of games and sports is a State function in India in terms of Entry 33 of

List II of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India100 which reads thus:
"33. Theaters and dramatic performances; cinemas subject to the provisions of
entry 60 of List 1; sports, entertainments and amusements."
The State by reason of a legislative action cannot confer on it extra territorial jurisdiction
in relation to sports, entertainment etc. Education, however, is in Concurrent List being
Item No. 25 of List III. Sport is considered to be a part of Education (within its expanded
meaning)101. Sport has been included in the Human Resource Development as a larger
part of education.
Union of India in exercise of its executive functions in terms of the Allocation of

Business Rules framed under Article 77 of the Constitution of India created a separate
98
Melnitzer, see supra note 74
99
Ewing v. Stern, No. 97 Civ. 3578 (JSR), 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24206 (S.D.N.Y. May 16, 1997) at 35-
36. see Yovel, Jonathan, ‘Legal Formalism, Institutional Norms, and the Morality of Basketball,’ Virginia
Sports And Entertainment Law Journal Fall 2008 Vol.8:1
100
Also see Entries 45 and 97 of the Union List
101
May be likened to Amateur Sports
24

Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports for the said purpose102. Keeping in view the fact
that the Union of India is required to promote sports throughout India, it, as of necessity
is required to coordinate between the activities of different States and furthermore having
regard to the International arena, it is only the Union of India which can exercise such a
power in terms of Entry 10, List I of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India
and it may also be held to have requisite legislative competence in terms of Entry 97, List
I of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India103. From April 30, 2008, Deptt. of
Youth Affairs and Deptt. of Sports are bifurcated under two separate Secretaries104.
The Union of India issues guidelines105 which are reviewed from time to time which is
forwarded to the Presidents/Secretary General, Indian Olympic Association and the
Presidents/Hony. General Secretaries of all recognized Sports Federations incorporating
therein the amended provisions.
Annexure-II appended to the said guidelines provides for recognition of National Sports
Federations, inter alia, by laying down the eligibility therefore and the necessity of filling
of applications in that behalf. Clause 3.12 reads as under:
"There would, be only one recognized Federation for each discipline of sport,
irrespective of the fact that the particular sport caters to youngsters, men, women
or veterans. However this condition shall not apply to Federations already
recognized by the Department."
Speaking about the nature of organization of sports in India Supreme Court in Zee
Telefilms noted that:
102
One of the objects of the Ministry is to work in close coordination with national federations that regulate
sports. Sports in India took a leap forward with 9th Asian Games in Delhi when The Ministry of Youth
Affairs & Sports was initially set up as the Department of Sports in 1982.
103
See Zee Telefilms case infra note 117 … para 66
104
See <http://yas.nic.in/index1.asp?langid=1&linkid=10> last accessed on April 16, 2009.
105
The objective of the said guidelines was to define the areas of responsibility of various agencies
involved in the promotion and development of sports, to identity National Sports Federations eligible for
coverage thereunder and to state the conditions for eligibility which the Government would insist upon
while releasing grants to Sports Federations. Para III speaks of role and responsibility of the Ministry of
Youth Affairs and Sports, National Sports Federations and the Sports Authority. Para IV provides for
priority sports which have been categorized as: (a) 'Priority', (b) 'General Category' and (c) 'Other
Category', Para 8 refers to grants given to National Federations under different sub-heads. Clause 8.8
specifies the funds with which the National Sports Federations would be assisted for holding the
international tournaments. Clause 8.9 provides for cultural exchange. Para 9 provides for clubbing and
dovetailing of schemes of SAI and the Ministry, Para XI provides for long term development plans. Para
XII deals with miscellaneous matters.
25

The Union of India or the respective Governments of the States in stead and place
of making legislation have thought it fit to allow the sports bodies to grow from
its grass-root level by applying the reverse pyramid rules and by encouraging all
associations and federations from village level to national level. Whereas in each
State there is a State federation, they must as of practice or precedent become a
member of the Board (BCCI). State Federations and some other organizations
essentially having regard to their respective nature of functions only are members
of the Board. They include Association of Indian Universities, Railway Sports
Control Board and Services Sports Control Board.
5.1 National Sports Federations - Organizations

Sportal106 the official website of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government
of India enlists six associated organizations, which prominently includes Sports Authority
of India (SAI), and Indian Olympic Association107. In the list of games it enlists 36
games and there are approximately 56 National Sports Federations108. There are State
Olympic Associations for each state separately.
5.1.1 Indian Olympic Association (IOA)

IOA the apex Sports Organization of Olympic Sport109 in the country is responsible for
the Indian contingent’s participation in the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games,
Asian Games (Outdoor-Indoor-Beach) and South Asian Games. Each Olympic and Non-
Olympic Sport has a Federation at the National level and are affiliated/recognized to/ by
IOA. There is a separate federation at national level in each game/sport which assists the
IOA and preparation of sportsmen110.
The selection of the National teams is done by the respective National Federations and
then recommend to IOA for official sponsorship for participation in the Games being
conducted under the auspicious of the IOC, OCA, CGF and SAG. A special feature of the
Indian Olympic Association is that, the National Federations and the State Olympic
106
See <http://sportal.nic.in/index.asp> last accessed on April 15, 2009.
107
Others are National Institute of Sports, Laxmibai National College for Physical Education, and
Laxmibai National Institute of Physical Education.
108
For example, Archery Association of India, Badminton Association of India, All India Chess Federation,
Wushu Association of India, Board of Control for Cricket in India, Women’s Cricket Association of India, etc.
109
Sir Dorabji Tata towards the end of 1919 first sowed the seeds for establishing a Sports body at National
level for promoting the Olympic Sport in united India. Sir Dorabjii Tata with the support of Dr. A.G.
Noehren then Director of YMCA established the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) in 1927.
110
See <http://olympic.ind.in/site/ioa_history.html> last accessed on April 15, 2009.
26

Associations are affiliated/recognised to it. The main task of the State Olympic
Associations is to promote the Olympic Sport and to ensure coordination among the State
Sports Associations111.
5.1.2 Sports Authority of India112

The Sports Authority of India (SAI), established in 1984 as a registered society, strives to
promote sports and develop excellence by upgrading the skills of Indian sports persons.
SAI ensures the effective and optimum utilization of various sports facilities and is
concerned with sports promotion and management113. In pursuance of its objectives, SAI
chalks out and implements various schemes approved within the SAI and schemes of the
Department. The main schemes of SAI are: National Sports Talent Contest, Special Area
Games, Sports Projects Development Area, and Sports Hostel Scheme114.
5.1.3 Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)

The Board is a society registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Act, 1975. It is not
created under a Statute but it is an acknowledged fact that in terms of its Memorandum of
Association and rules framed by it, it has not only the monopoly status as regard the
regulation of the game of cricket but also can lay down the criteria for its membership
and furthermore make the law of sport of cricket115. The Board for all intent and purport
is a recognized national federation recognized by the Union of India116. By reason of said,
recognition only, an enormous power is exercised by the Board which from selection and
preparation of players at the grass root level to organize Daleep Trophy, Ranji Trophy
etc. select teams and umpires for international events. The players selected by the Board
111
Id.
112
See <http://www.nsnis.org/> Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports: Patiala
113
See <http://sportsauthorityofindia.nic.in/> last accessed on April 15, 2009.
114
Id.
115
See Zee Telefilms case infra note 117 para 230: It is said to be recognized by the Union of India,
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
116
The Board of Control for Cricket in India was established in December 1928 as the single national
governing body for all cricket in India. It is headquartered in Mumbai. The BCCI has 27 State association
members across five zones in India. See Zee Telefilms case infra note 117
27

represent India as their citizen. They use the national colour in their attire. The team is
known as Indian team. It is recognized as such by the ICC117.
5.1.4 BCCI – Whether a State?

In Zee Telefilms Case118 the question arose that whether a petition under Article 32 of the
Constitution is maintainable against BCCI (the Board) treating it as ‘State’ within the
meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution? Majority view119 was that Board was not
‘State’ because Board was not created by a statute, no part of share capital of Board was
held by government, no financial assistance was given by government to Board, and there
was absence of any deep and pervasive state control over Board. Merely because Board
enjoyed a monopoly Status in field of cricket and it exercised some public duty would not
make it ‘State’ for the purposes of Article 12120.
However, minority view treated the ‘Board’ to be ‘State’ and it was said:
We, therefore, are of the opinion that law requires to be expanded in this field and
it must be held that the Board answers the description of "Other Authorities" as
contained in Article 12 of the Constitution of India and satisfies the requisite legal
tests, as noticed hereinbefore. It would, therefore, be a 'State'121.
Minority view appears to be more appealing and rationale in view of the circumstances
mentioned in the case. It appears that due to the fear of opening up of host of litigations
throughout the state on sports-related issue, the majority took a view not to treat ‘Board’
as ‘State’, though the Apex Court made a remark against such apprehension122.
117
Zee Telefilms Ltd. and Anr. v. Union of India (UOI) and Ors., AIR 2005 SC 2677: (2005) 4 SCC 649:
MANU/SC/0074/2005 (Coram: N. Santosh Hegde (majority view), B.P. Singh, H.K. Sema, S.B. Sinha
(minority view) and S.N. Variava, JJ.)
118
Id.
119
Given by N. Santosh Hegde, J.
120
Relying upon the test laid down in Pradeep Kumar Biswas v. Indian Institute of Chemical Biology and
Ors. MANU/SC/0330/2002.
121
Zee Telefilms, see supra note 117 at Para 281 - The Central Government's reluctance to interfere with its
day to day affairs or allowing it to work as an autonomous body, non-assistance in terms of money or the
administrative control there over may not be of much relevance as it was not only given de facto
recognition but also it is aided, facilitated or supported in all other respects by it.
122
Zee Telefilms, see supra note 117 at Para 303. “The "in Terrorem" submission of Mr. Venugopal that a
floodgate of litigation would open up if the Board is held to be a State within the meaning of Article 12 of
the Constitution cannot also be accepted. Floodgate arguments about the claimed devastating effect of
being declared a State must be taken with a grain of Salt. The court, firstly, while determining a
constitutional question considers such a question to be more or less irrelevant.”
28

In Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India and Ors. etc.
v. Cricket Association of Bengal and Ors. etc.123, this Court held that:
"...The right to telecast sporting event will therefore also include the right to
educate and inform the present and the prospective sportsmen interested in the
particular game and also to inform and entertain the lovers of the game: Hence,
when a telecaster desires to telecast a sporting event it is incorrect to say that free-
speech element is absent from his right. The degree of the element will depend
upon the character of the telecaster who claims the right. An organizer such as the
BCCI or CAB in the present case which are indisputably devoted to the
promotion of the game of cricket cannot be placed in the same scale as the
business organizations whose only intention is to make as large a profit as can be
made by telecasting the game...."
5.1.5 The Sports Law & Welfare Association of India (SLAWIN)

It is a nonprofit, national, professional, organization whose common goal is the
understanding, advancement, and ethical practice of, "Sports Law" in India for the
promotion of Sports, by bringing Legal Practitioners and Sports persons together124
5.1.6 Indian Premier League – a New Saga

Indian Premier League (IPL) was a great success in 2008. However, in 2009, there were
controversies relating to match fixtures in India due to General Elections and the matches
has to be shifted to South Africa. Rules of the competition confirms to the ICC Standard
Twenty20 International Match Playing Conditions, 1 October 2007 version125.
5.2 National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA)

On 7th March, 2008, the NADA has accepted the World Anti-Doping Code (the “Code”).
Anti-Doping Rules, like Competition rules, are sport rules governing the conditions under
which sport is played. Athletes and Athlete Support Personnel accept these rules as a
condition of participation. Anti-Doping Rules are not intended to be subject to or limited
by the requirements and legal standards applicable to criminal proceedings or
employment matters. The policies and minimum standards set forth in the Code and
implemented in these Anti-Doping Rules represent the consensus of a broad spectrum of
123
MANU/SC/0246/1995
124
See <http://www.sportslawindia.info/aboutus.htm> last accessed on March 30, 2009.
125
See <http://www.iplt20.com/rules-of-the-competition.html> last accessed on April 15, 2009.
29

stakeholders with an interest in fair sport and should be respected by all courts and
adjudicating bodies126.
Anti-doping rule deals with a strict liability on the participant of a sport as “It is each
Athlete’s personal duty to ensure that no Prohibited Substance enters his or her body.
Athletes are responsible for any Prohibited Substance or its Metabolites or Markers found
to be present in their bodily Specimens. Accordingly, it is not necessary that intent, fault,
negligence or knowing Use on the Athlete’s part be demonstrated in order to establish an
anti-doping rule violation under Article 2.1
5.3 National Sports Policy

First Resolution on the National Sports Policy was laid in both Houses of Parliament in
August, 1984. The National Sports Policy, 1984 was formulated with the objective of
raising the standard of Sports in the country. The National Education Policy, 1986 also
incorporated the objectives of the Policy in so far as the Education Sector was concerned.
However, the Policy could not achieve its desired objectives, which necessitated
reformulating the sports policy spelling out the specific measures required to be taken by
the various agencies, which are involved, in various ways, in promoting sports in the
country. National Sports Policy 2001 came into existence127.
The Sports Policy of 2001 aimed towards achieving excellence through coordination
among various sports federations. Encouragement and promotion of amateur sports was
vouched ensuring that the educational institutions, Schools and Colleges in both rural and
urban areas with special emphasis in rural areas.
5.3.1 Draft Sports Policy 2007

The Comprehensive National Sports Policy 2007 aims at building on previous sports
policies with a view to accomplishing the unfinished agenda and addressing the emerging
challenges of India in the 21st century, most particularly the national goal of emerging as
126
See <http://sportal.nic.in/antidoping.pdf> last accessed on April 16, 2009.
127
In terms of the National Sports Policy, 2001, the Central Government, in conjunction with the State
Government, the Olympic Association (IOA) and the National Sports Federation will concertedly pursue
the twin objectives of "Broad-basing" of Sports and "Achieving Excellence in Sports at the National and
International levels".
30

a global, yet inclusive, economic power in the near future. Out of the many other
objectives and strategies128 of the comprehensive draft sports policy “Contingent
Constitutional, Legal and Institutional measures to operationalize the Comprehensive
Sports Policy” is one of the important strategy which aims at changing the legal
requirement to deal with sports.
There has been under consideration in Parliament since the Twelfth Lok Sabha a Bill
aimed at transferring the subject of “sports” from the State List to the Concurrent List in
the Seventh Schedule. It is, proposed to pursue in Parliament the need to shift the
emphasis on sports from its present Constitutional position where it is clubbed with
“entertainments” and “amusements” to treating sports as a key instrument of youth
development for accelerated and inclusive national development, the overarching goal of
the Approach to Eleventh Five-Year Plan endorsed by the National Development
Council, a goal that clearly requires a concurrent effort by the Centre and the States.
5.4 Indian Sports Law Jurisprudence

It is clear from the aforesaid discussions that sports has been a neglected area in India for
a long period. The situation has changed over the last two decades. As far as sports law
in India is concerned, there are no substantial direct cases dealing with sports and law
except the two cases129 referred to above. However, in a catena of decisions sports
organizations and bodies were parties on different issues. Thus, in India the development
is in ‘sports and law’ and not ‘sports law.’
In M.P. Triathlon Association through its Secretary and Anr. v Indian Triathlon
Federation and Ors130 court emphasized the need of arbitration as a mode of dispute
settlement and remarked:
128
Sports for All, Universalize sports facilities in educational institutions, Sports facilities in rural areas,
Sports facilities in urban areas, Mass participation for sports culture and competitions, Fostering a sports
club culture, Promoting sports competitions, Advocacy of benefits of sports, Promotion of Indigenous
Sports, etc.
129
Zee Telefilms (supra note 117) and Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of
India and Ors. etc. v. Cricket Association of Bengal and Ors. etc (supra note 123)
130
1996(8)SCALE693, (1996)11SCC593, MANU/SC/1774/1996 (K. Ramaswamy and G.B. Pattanaik, JJ.)
- settlement of the disputes in terms of Rule XIX of the Indian Olympic Association Rules.
31

It is rather unfortunate and we feel that every Indian citizen would feel ashamed
of the fact that not even one sports-person out of the huge population of 94 crores
could find a place in the victory stand in the Olympic Games 1996 held at Atlanta.
Instead, all these Associations are busy in the court proceedings and spending
their spirit on the litigation instead of inculcating spirit of sports in the track and
field. These cases are some instances of the deplorable state of affairs.
In the case of Secretary, Madras Gymkhana Club Employees' Union v: Management of

the Gymkhana Club131, the club was treated to come under the definition of ‘Industry’
under the Industrial Disputes Act 1947. however, this decision was overruled
subsequently in Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board vs. A. Rajappa and
Ors.132,
In view of the confrontation as to the elections of the society, it was directed by supreme
court in K. Murugan v. Fencing Association of India, Jabalpur and Ors133 that all
litigations be dropped at various places in the country and appointed a retired judge to
conduct a smooth election of the society. While disposing the matter, court made
adequate need for sports in modern time for community development and in first few
paragraphs traced the history of Olympic Games.
There are few cases in which the ‘Sports Quota’ was in issue either for admission to a
professional/regular course134 or in public employment/promotion135. In Mr. Govindagiri
131
AIR 1968 SC 554, MANU/SC/0227/1967 (C.A. Vaidialingam, M. Hidayatullah and V. Bhargava, JJ.) -
club provides services only to members or to any other person through members – element of trade or
business or undertaking completely missing in members’ club – club has no existence apart from its
members – club does not come within definition of industry; also see Cricket Club of India v: Bombay
Labour Union and Anr., AIR 1969 SC 276.
132
AIR1978SC548; also see Tata Sports Club v. Ratilal B. Ravji and A.B.M. Sheikh, Presiding Officer,
VIIth Labour Court, 2008(2) MhLJ 687 (an enterprise which carries out systematic activity, organised by
cooperation between employer and employee, for the production and/or distribution of goods and services
calculated to satisfy human wants and wishes in the shape of recreation and sports — Therefore, appellant-
Club satisfies all the criteria of industry and can be declared as industry within the meaning of Section 2(j)
of Act)
133
(1991)2SCC412 [Ranganath Misra, C.J., M.H. Kania and Kuldip Singh, JJ.]
134
Minor S. Sunayana represented by Father and guardian S. Srinivasan v. The State of Tamil Nadu
represented by Secretary, Department of Education and Ors., MANU/TN/1791/2003 (once eligibility for
admission under sports category determined, selection and admission shall be based on marks obtained for
excellence in sports only – there cannot be further classification on basis of academic marks for selection
and admission as claimed by petitioner); Balraj Sharma and Mr. Rohtash Mehta v. Union of India (UOI)
and Ors., MANU/DE/1848/2002 (Delhi University - no legal right to seek admission on basis of sports -
said provision enabling provision and not mandatory)
135
K. Manickaraj v. Union of India (UOI), (1997)4SCC342, (K. Ramaswamy and G.B. Pattanaik, JJ.)
32

S/o Shanmugam A.V. and Ors. v. The Government of Karnataka represented by its
Secretary Education Department and Ors136. the issue was whether Circular providing
that only such students governed by Karnataka State Education Act could participate in
State level meets organised and conducted by Department to the exclusion of children
were studying in various classes in CBSE & ICSE Board was violative of Article 14 of
the constitution. Classification was held proper.
Thus, it can be seen that whenever the courts in India has got an opportunity to comment
upon the sports and its development, it has not shown economy of words and has given
elaborate judgments. However, courts were not confronted with cases of a nature in
Western countries. Moreover ADR is encouraged and it appears that sports law
jurisprudence would develop on the lines of WTO law jurisprudence.
CONCLUSION
Sports law is growing to be an important aspect of sports industry137. Sport law contains
all provisions, introduced by the State or by athletic authorities that concern sport and
athletic activities in general and regulates the relations that are developed in the frame of
athletic activity. One of the peculiarities of the rules of athletic legal order is that its
provisions are not introduced by the executive power of each state but by legal persons.
The worldwide athletic legal order is characterized by its self-reliant foundation, its
independence from other legal orders, and as a rule, its non submission to governmental
control138. However, this may not be fully true for national athletic order inasmuch as the
national government would be in picture whenever there is an international activity. For
example a team may be stopped to play with a foreign team, as it happened with India
and Pakistan.
The true nature of sports law and difficulty in its development has been adequately
explained by Papalaukas Marious in the following words:
136
MANU/KA/1171/2006 (BS Patil, J.)
137
See <http://www.sportsmanagement.in/> last accessed on April 8, 2009; also see
<http://www.sportslawnews.com/Current.html>
138
M. Papaloukas, Principles of Law, 2005, p. 58-60,
33

Sport has certain unique characteristics, which must be safeguarded if it is not to
be transformed into something very different. The difficulty lies into clarifying
how the law can be applied to economic aspects of sport taking account of its
uniqueness and character. State authorities, legislators, judges, lawyers, market
analysts, should start considering the area of sports as a special area in every
aspect. All legal or financial rules applying to other economic activities are to be
thoroughly examined before applied to sports. In order to regulate sports
activities legal provisions and economic rules sometimes have to be reformed and
sometimes they have to be rejected139.
Sports law is in its developmental stages in the developing nations and has a long way to
go. As Justice Cardoze says140:
"The law has its epochs of ebb and flow; the flood tides are on us. The old order
may change yielding place to new; but the transition is never an easy process".
139
Marios, Papalaukas, ‘Sports Law and Sports Market’, Sports Management International Journal, Vol 1,
number 1, Autumn 2005, at 42
140
Zee Telefilms see supra note 117.
34

SSRN Id2972059

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

SSRN Id2972059

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

‘Issues in Emerging Area of Sports Law: Lex Sportiva’

Vijay Kumar Singh

1.1 Sports for Development

1.2 Sports as a Business Proposition

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059

1.3 Development of ‘Sports Law’ from ‘Sports and Law’

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059

1.4 ‘International Sports Law’ versus ‘Global Sports Law’

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059

Global sports law, by contrast, may provisionally be defined as a transnational

1.5 ‘Amateur’ versus ‘Professional Sports’

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059

1.6 Public Law and Sports– A ‘Judicial Review’ Perspective

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059

In St. Johnstone Football Club Limited v. Scottish Football Association Limited26, a

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059

1.7 Budding Sports Law Jurisprudence

Lex sportiva for Beloff has three main elements:

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059

2 INTERNATIONAL SPORTS FEDERATIONS AND LAW

2.1 The International Football Federation (FIFA)

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059

2.2 The International Cricket Council (ICC)

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059

2.3 The International Olympic Committee (IOC)

The Olympic Charter (OC) is the codification of the Fundamental Principles of

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059

2.5 International Tennis Federation (ITF)

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059

2.6 International Swimming Federation (FINA)

2.7 International Equestrian Federation (FEI)

2.8 International Hockey Federation (IHF)

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059

3. INTERNATIONAL SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS

3.1 International Association of Sports Law (IASL)

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059

3.2 Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059

3.3 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA):

The Copenhagen Declaration on Anti-Doping in Sport (Copenhagen Declaration) is a

4. ISSUES IN SPORTS LAW

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059

4.1 Contractual Issues

4.1.1 Contract of Employment

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059

4.2 Competition Law

4.3 Organizational Issues

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059

4.4 Intellectual Property

4.4.1 Right to Publicity

4.4.2 Fantasy Sports

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059

4.7 The Problem of Doping:

4.8 Violence at Sports - Sports Injury

4.9 Dispute Resolution

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059

5. SPORTS LAW IN INDIA

Encouragement of games and sports is a State function in India in terms of Entry 33 of

Union of India in exercise of its executive functions in terms of the Allocation of

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2972059