Is There a Global Sports Law?

Abstract

How can international sporting federations be regulated by law? This question is analytically dependent on a narrower question, whether there is a definable concept called international sports law. This article distinguishes 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 law. Conceptually, it is a cloak for continued self-regulation by international sports federations and a claim for non-intervention by national legal systems and by international sports law. It thus opposes a rule of law in regulating international sport.