'Separating powers in the lex sportiva: Can the Court of Arbitration for Sport become an independent check on the transnational governance of sport?' - Dr Antoine Duval, Asser Institute

Time: 3 pm - 4.15 pm

This is an in-person event only.

Lecture summary: Olympic sports are governed by a complex assemblage of regulations adopted and enforced by international sports governing bodies (SGBs) often referred to as lex sportiva. This governance is not neutral; it has stark distributive effects for those affected by it as it determines the way in which we practice and experience international sports. Yet, the legitimacy of this governance is not grounded in democratic participation or in a delegation of powers from sovereign states, its foundation lies in the (forced) consent of the members of the sports associations concerned (and their members members at national or regional level). Ultimately, this state of affairs raises the question of the accountability of this governance to those directly affected by it. This paper suggests that the CAS has a fundamental role to play in this regard, but that this function as the main accountability fora in the transnational governance of sport requires a rethinking by national and European courts of the institutional conditions for its independence from the SGBs of the Olympic Movement. Ultimately, it is argued that to discharge its responsibility as an independent check on the legislative and administrative power of the SGBs, the CAS will have to undergo a profound institutional reform. 

Antoine Duval is Senior Researcher at the Asser Institute, where he heads the Asser International Sports Law Centre. His research focuses on transnational private governance and regulation in the field of sports and business and human rights. He has widely published on the lex sportiva and its interaction with EU law and the ECHR and is an editor of the International Sports Law Journal.  

Chair: Dr Lena Holzer (lh850@cam.ac.uk)