JJUA14010U International Sports Law - NOTE: THE COURSE IS CANCELLED IN THE SPRING SEMESTER 2017
The main objective of the course is to provide the students with
an understanding of legal relationships in professional sports in
the United States and Europe, in particular the Scandinavian
countries, with emphasis on comparative analyses of the legal,
cultural and social differences between the American and European
sports models.
In the first part of the course the students will be acquainted
with the legal framework and organization of the four American
major sports leagues (MBL, NBA, NFL and the NHL) and the
international sports federations (FIFA, FIBA, etc.). The students
will review how the governing bodies of the leagues and federations
operate and to what extent their rulings are subjected to judicial
review. In this context the course will focus on selected parts of
public regulation of sports activities and the nature of the
often-proclaimed “legal autonomy” of sports organizations. Special
emphasis will primarily be put on a comparative study of the US and
EU legislation regarding employment relationships in sports. The
course will in particular focus on, how sports federations in
Europe in recent years have had to change their rules and accept
the fact that fundamental EU principles regarding free movement of
workers also apply for athletes in sports. In this regard the
Bosman ruling from 1995 and other sports-related decisions from the
European Court of Justice within the last couple of years will be
examined in order to find out which, if any, exemptions from the
principle of free movement of workers could be deemed acceptable
for “sports reasons”.
In comparison to the EU-related issues, which the sports
federations face in Europe, the course will examine the so-called
labour exemption under US law and how this rule is being applied in
the sports context. Thus, selected features of US collective
bargaining agreements and player contracts in the US pro leagues
will be reviewed and compared to the European contract system in
the post-Bosman transfer era.
The course will also in more general terms deal with anti-trust
aspects of sports activities in the US and Europe in particular the
regulation of exclusive television rights to major sports events.
Proprietary and intellectual property rights issues in sports
events and sports performances will also be discussed with special
emphasis on sponsorships, ambush marketing and merchandising rights
in pro sports.
Finally, the course will examine the overall internationalisation
of sports and developments, trends and problems in this context for
the future of the European sports model in an increasingly
commercial sports environment.
- Explain the construction of the Danish and
International Sports World and their mutual relationship.
- Give an account of and explain the Danish and
International Sports World legislative characteristics (far
reaching autonomi, own rules and practise, own courts.
-Be able to make comprehensive and comparative view of the various
selected branches of jurisprudence in the US and Europe, where
matters of sportslaw have been tried before court.
- Identify the legal problems arising when the sports
world’s own rules and structure are inconsistent with the law of
the civil society.
- Explain the arguments in favour of a special sports
policy due to socio-cultural, educational or economic
considerations.
- Make a critical assessment between sports and economic arguments
and put forward a presentation of legal problems in the world of
sports in a systematic and convincing way, showing a comprehensive
view and understanding of the Sports Law’s many different aspects.
- Communicate and formulate her/his knowledge and
arguments professionally and linguistically correct and in a
structured and coherent way
Lars Halgreen: “European Sports Law - A Comparative Analyses of the European and American Models of Sport”, 2. ed., 2013 (424 pages).
- Category
- Hours
- Preparation
- 241
- Seminar
- 34
- Total
- 275
- Credit
- 10 ECTS
- Type of assessment
- Oral examination, 20 minOral exam without preparation, 20 minutes
- Marking scale
- 7-point grading scale
- Censorship form
- External censorship
- Exam period
Spring: May 22 - May 24 + May 26, 2017 (preliminary dates)
- Re-exam
Please see "Academic calendar" on KUnet.
Course information
- Language
- English
- Course code
- JJUA14010U
- Credit
- 10 ECTS
- Level
- Full Degree MasterFull Degree Master choice
- Duration
- 1 semester
- Placement
- Spring
- Schedule
- A2
- Continuing and further education
- Price
DKK 10.000
- Study board
- Law
Contracting department
- Law
Course responsibles
- Jens Kristiansen (16-536e777c37547b727c7d726a777c6e7749737e7b37747e376d74)