What is Sports Law? A Reassessment of Content and Terminology

Abstract

AbstractCan sports law be considered as an independent substantive area of the law, does it enjoy recognition as such, and if so, why? This is actually the primary question that requires answering, because the answer to this question is not unchallenged. The question of what sports law is can then be addressed. This contribution is structured as follows: 1) Does sports law, a sports law, sports law as an area of law exist? 2) What does sports law consist of? 3) a reassessment of content and terminology, and 4) what is the ‘hard core’ of sports law? In summary, it can be concluded that: 1) sports law exists, 2) according to the ‘sources theory’ which in fact is presented in this address, it comprises a public and a private part, 3) it is proposed to name the public part lex sportiva (sporting law) and the private part lex ludica (sportive law), and 4) the ‘hard core’ of sports law is chiefly ‘judge-made law’: of the European Court of Justice (now: Court of Justice of the EU) as the public judge—at least from a European (EU) perspective, or court (regional), and of the Court of Arbitration for Sport as the private court (global).KeywordsLegal OrderSport OrganisationInternational Olympic CommitteeProfessional FootballLisbon TreatyThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.