Agora 10: International Law and Sports: Competing for Governance?

International sports associations, like the International Olympic Committee, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, the International Cricket Council or the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, are examples of self-governing transnational institutions managing sports issues in a highly efficient and often rather secretive manner. Allegations of corruption, mismanagement, the lack of sufficient measures against doping and bribery suspicions have raised serious concerns over their self-regulatory governance structures. Furthermore, general questions of due process and fair trial have been raised in recent highly publicized cases of sanctions against athletes or sports clubs. Another question that continuously surfaces in the context of major sporting events, such as the Olympic Games, is to what extent sport has to get involved in politics. In particular, might sport be a means of inducing compliance with rules of international law?
This agora will address complex issues regarding the tension between self-regulation and state control, the reach of national criminal and tort law, and the role of sports arbitration and other dispute settlement mechanisms in securing the accountability of international sports associations.