The important theme "What is Sports Law?" was the topic of the international Conference on "The Concept of Lex Sportiva Revisited", which took place in Jakarta in late 2010. Academics and practitioners are still in debate to agree on this concept as is evident in this book. This book not only contains the worked out contributions of this Conference, but also other related chapters on the subject. It produces a reassessment of the content of Sports Law and its terminology keeping a close eye on the current literature. The book appears in the ASSER International Sports Law Series, under the editorship of Prof. Dr. Robert Siekmann, Dr. Janwillem Soek and Marco van der Harst LL.M.

Gambling is a significant global industry, which is worth around 0.6% of world trade, that is, around US$ 384 billion; and gambling on the outcome of sports events is a very popular pastime for millions of people around the world, who combine a bet with watching and enjoying their favourite sports. But, like any other human activity, sports betting is open to corruption and improper influence from unscrupulous sports persons, bookmakers and others. Sports betting in the last ten years or so has developed and changed quite fundamentally with the advent of modern technology - not least the omnipresence of the Internet and the rise of on-line sports betting. This book covers the law and policy on sports betting in more than forty countries around the world whose economic and social development, history and culture are quite different. Several chapters deal with the United States of America. This book also includes a review of sports betting under European Union (EU) Law. The book appears in the ASSER International Sports Law Series, under the editorship of Dr. Robert Siekmann, Dr. Janwillem Soek and Marco van der Harst LL.M.

With a Foreword by Roger Blanpain, Professor in Labour Law, Universities of Leuven (Belgium) and Tilburg (The Netherlands) and co-founder and first President of FIFPro. Publicly, at least, there appears to be a strong collective will within football to clean up the game, to make the work of players' agents more transparent and to allow a greater share of the game's profits to stay within the game. Privately, there seems to be unease that current agent regulation is out of step with football industry norms and that if the sector is to operate effectively, practices which are prohibited by the rules should in fact be tolerated. Here lies the problem. Stringent agent regulation may well look impressive but over-regulation will merely compound the problem of non-compliance and a lack of transparency. Finding the balance which not only addresses the problems facing football and satisfies the supporters and other interested stakeholders but which also satisfies the requirements of national, EU and international law is just one of the many challenges facing football's governing bodies. What are players' agents? Why should they be regulated? How should they be regulated? These three apparently simple questions have been tackled throughout this book. The first question appears straightforward as agents perform similar functions throughout the world. However, as the contributions in the book reveal, the manner in which agents operate varies. The questions of why and how to regulate again reveals common themes but also considerable variations in patterns of regulation. In this connection, there are, in effect, three tiers of agent regulation: international law, national law and the law of the sports associations. This book covers the legal regulations governing players' agents in forty countries around the world, representing the major footballing constituencies including Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Russia as well as the "Big Five" in Europe. Written by acknowledged experts, it provides a very useful and informative comparative survey. Indeed, this is a book, which all those involved in the administration of football clubs, particularly, coaches and managers, as well as players' agents themselves, and commercial, financial and legal advisers, can do hardly do without, as it will provide them with a constant and useful source of reference.

With a Foreword by Dr Ralf-Rene Weingartner, Director for Youth and Sport, Council of Europe, Strasbourg The Council of Europe is unquestionably the body that has made the most substantial contribution to paving the way for a European sports model. The Council of Europe was the first international intergovernmental organisation to take initiatives to establish legal instruments, and to offer an institutional framework for the development of sport at European level. The first stage of the Council of Europe's work in this field was marked by the adoption of the Committee of Ministers' Resolution on Doping of Athletes (1967). The extensive work of the Council of Europe on sport is evident through its main instruments on sport, such as the European Sports Charter, the Code of Sports Ethics, the European Convention on Spectator Violence, and the Anti-Doping Convention. Sport co-operation within the Council of Europe is organised in partnership with national governmental and non-governmental bodies. The Council of Europe and Sport: Basic Documents is the second volume in the Asser series of collections of documents on international sports law, containing material on the intergovernmental (inter-state) part of international sports law. The European Union and Sport: Legal and Policy Documents was the first volume devoted to the European Union. In previous other publications, non-governmental materials, i.e. statutes and constitutions, doping rules and regulations, arbitral and disciplinary rules and regulations of the international sports organisations were published. The book provides an invaluable source of reference for governmental and sports officials, legal practitioners and the academic world. With the increasing public interest in the legal aspects of sports, this collection of documents is a timely and welcome contribution to enhancing the accessibility of basic texts on international sports law and policy.

With a Foreword by Hein Verbruggen, UCI Honorary President for life and IOC Member This book deals with the legal position of the athlete in doping cases under the law of the regulations of national and international sports federations and how this legal position can be reinforced. According to the rules of the sports organizations applicable to doping offences, where prohibited substances are found in athlete's bodily fluids the athlete in question is strictly liable for a doping offence. In the disciplinary procedure there is no discussion about his guilt and the athlete is not given an opportunity to disprove his guilt. One of the starting points of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) is that suspects are not guilty until their guilt has been proven conclusively based on the law, which includes the right of defence. The author analyzes the nature of doping offences and puts forward arguments in favour of the application of the rights of the defence as laid down in the ECHR in disciplinary doping proceedings. In his argumentation he also addresses the procedural system of sanctions and the practical and economic consequences the sanctions may have for the athlete concerned. As not only the athlete himself, but also sports clubs and sponsors may suffer serious damage from such sanctions, this book on the strict liability principle will be of great interest to practitioners and academics in more than one field of law. Moreover, it will be a welcome addition to the literature and the continuing debate on doping in sport, which is a matter of great concern to many interested parties. Janwillem Soek is a senior researcher at the ASSER International Sports Law Centre, The Hague, The Netherlands.

I am very pleased and proud to write the Foreword to this Book on the occasion of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) having completed its first twenty years of operations. And I warmly congratulate the ASSER International Sports Law Centre and the Editors, Ian Blackshaw, Rob Siekmann and Janwillem Soek - in cooperation with Andrew Gibson, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia, and Steve Cornelius, University of Johannesburg, South Africa -, on their joint initiative in putting together and publishing this Book. The CAS has come a long way since the idea of establishing it was first mentioned by Juan Antonio Samaranch, the former IOC President. His vision and confidence in its future have been truly vindicated. Since its creation and up to 31 December 2003, 576 cases have been submitted, of which 550 were requests for arbitration and 26 for an advisory opinion. In 2004, there was a sharp rise in the number of cases handled by the CAS and this trend continues apace. Thus, the CAS goes from strength to strength and has a great future, having, in the words of the Swiss Federal Tribunal in its landmark judgement of 27 May 2003, "built up the trust of the sporting world and] . . . now widely recognised . . . as] . . . one of the principal mainstays of organised sport.

With a Foreword by Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Education and Culture The European Union and Sport: Legal and Policy Documents is the first volume in the T.M.C. Asser Institute series of collections of documents on international sports law containing material on the intergovernmental (interstate) element of international sports law. Previous volumes have dealt with the Statutes and Constitutions of universal sports organizations, their Doping as well as their Arbitral and Disciplinary Rules. The legal and policy texts in the present book are arranged in thematical, alphabetical order and are chronologically subordered per theme. They cover the period since the Walrave judgement in 1974 when the European Court of Justice established that sport is subject to Community law to the extent that it constitutes an economic activity. The book in fact gives a detailed insight into what could be called the 'EU Sport Acquis' for the present and future (candidate) Member States. This acquis has been developed over the years in numerous decisions and policy documents by, in particular, the Council, Commission, European Parliament and Court of Justice. The contents of this book are divided into three parts totalling twenty chapters and covering all themes which the EC/EU has dealt with so far. The General part contains general policy documents such as, for example, the European Model of Sport and the so-called Helsinki Report on Sport. Specific Subjects concern Boycott, Broadcasting (in particular the Television without Frontiers Directive), Community Aid and Sport Funding (for example, the Eurathlon Programme), Competition (central selling of tv rights regarding the UEFA Champions League, the German Bundesliga, the English Premier League, etc., Formula One, World Cup ticketing arrangements, players' agents), Customs, Diplomas (Heylens), Discrimination (Walrave, Dona, Kolpak, and including Women in sport), Doping (Community Support Plan and Pilot Project for Campaigns to Combat Doping in Sport), Education / Youth (European Year of Education through Sport 2004, and documents concerning child protection in sport and trafficking in young footballers), the freedom of establishment to provide services (Deliege) and of movement of workers (Bosman, Lehtonen), the Olympic Games, State Aid, Tax, Tobacco Advertising, Trade Marks (Arsenal/Reed), Vandalism and Violence (football hooliganism) and Miscellanea (Fishing, Horses, Hunting, etc.). The European Union and Sport: Legal and Policy Documents provides an invaluable source of reference for governmental and sports officials, legal practitioners and the academic world. With the increasing public interest in the legal aspects of sports, this collection of documents is a timely and welcome contribution to enhancing the accessibility of basic texts on international sports law and policy.