Increasing professionalisation, the enormous growth in the Olympic Movement and the commercialisation of sport have all contributed to the development of Sport as a business, as well as a pastime. As a result there has been increasing intersection of the law with sporting activity. This course will examine the following:

• the economics of sports leagues
• the structure of sporting organisations
• International and national governance of sport
• the impact of administrative law on the working of disciplinary tribunals
• Industrial law and the treatment of the athlete as employee
• Labour market controls and the impact of competition law
• Player agents
• the law and policy relating to doping of athletes, and
• The impact of intellectual property laws on sponsorship and promotion of sporting events.

Skills based outcomes

The course will provide opportunities for students to develop their skills in the following areas:

(i). concentrated legal research and writing to a postgraduate standard, via the written

component of assessment (relying upon skills in finding, analysing and

using relevant legal and policy resources relating to sport and law);

(ii). Specialised writing skills relating to arbitration submissions, via the

specialised component of assessment;

(iii). Improved skills in cross-disciplinary analysis of the law

(iv). Improved knowledge of comparative approaches to legal analysis.

(v). Improved skills in assessment and analysis of effectiveness of legislation and

policies;

(vi). An opportunity to improve capacity to make persuasive oral argument and

presentations to a group, leading to greater capacity to present clearly, effectively

and quickly information relating to an aspect of sports law.

 Knowledge based outcomes

(i). An understanding of the key concepts, principles and issues relating to

sporting activity;

(ii). Overview of regulatory framework for sporting activity in Australia as well as internationally;

(iii). Knowledge of the particular challenges and issues arising in the specialised

application of the regulatory framework to sporting and recreational activity in Australia;

(iv). Greater knowledge of the relevance of applying sociological, psychological, medical and economic concepts within the context of the legal regulatory framework of sports law.

TBC, either:

Research paper (8000 words) (100%)

or

A combination of shorter research paper (3000 words, 50%) and one of the following (also worth 50%):  Class presentation &  take home examination

or

Participation in a mock arbitration (100%, with written submissions constituting part of the assessable work)

In addition to the 24-26 hours of class time, students should anticipate approximately 20-30 hours of additional reading and 30-40 hours to complete assessment tasks.

LAWS8015 Fundamentals of Government & Commercial Law (for non-lawyers)

Students will require a sound understanding of contract law.  Success in the unit will be greatly assisted by knowledge of tort law, administrative law, competition law and intellectual property law. (covered in LAWS8015 for non-lawyers)

D. Thorpe, A. Buti, C. Davies, S. Fridman and P. Johnson, SportsLaw, Sydney:  Oxford University Press, 2009

Students will require access to internet