LAW4340 · Sport and the law

Overview

This Unit explores the intersection of sport and law and in so doing: 1. equips students to apply the body of knowledge known as "sports law"; and 2. consolidates, reinforces and extends students' knowledge and understanding of core legal subjects central to the practice of law. The Unit begins by examining the place of sport in our society, and how changes in society, and how society perceives sport (and sport perceives itself), has influenced the development and application of the law to sport. In doing so, the Unit will examine sport in its various guises, local, national and international; professional and amateur; contact and non-contact; and explore sports' social, cultural, economic and political importance. Next, the Unit explores the extent to which sport's "specificity" (its unique social and cultural standing and need for "competitive balance") has seen legislatures and courts modify the application to it of traditional legal concepts. Areas to be examined include the application of criminal law to on-field violence; tort and OHS law to sports related injuries; contract and employment law to sports persons' employment contracts and collective bargaining agreements; and competition, equal opportunity and anti-discrimination law to the rules and practices by which sporting competitions are organised and conducted. The Unit then explores the development of unique legal rules and institutions tailored to sports persons and sporting activities. These include sports' anti-doping codes, rules concerning corruption, gambling and match-fixing, and unique systems of self-regulation and dispute resolution (e.g., World Anti-Doping Agency and Court for Arbitration of Sport).. Finally, the Unit concludes by considering the extent to which this body of knowledge evidences a specific corpus of jurisprudence recognisable as "sports law", and what we can learn from it about the development of the law more generally. The Unit's focus is on domestic Australian law, but with an eye to how developments in other parts of the world could influence the evolution of the law and practice in Australia.

Offerings

Assessment

The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.

Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.

Requisites

Learning outcomes

1. transfer and apply foundational legal knowledge to advise on issues emanating from sport and sporting contests in a manner that demonstrates an understanding of the economic, socio-cultural and political contexts in which sport and the law intersect.
2. collaborate effectively in order to investigate, interpret and assess real-world cases employing a range of legal policies, principles and strategies relevant to the regulation and facilitation of sport.
3. apply legal reasoning and critical evaluation skills in order to deconstruct complex real-world scenarios and generate coherent and persuasive responses to these.
4. make recommendations and reports that synthesise fundamental legal principles and knowledge into professional, appropriately structured documents common in legal practice.
5. employ critical self-reflection in order to identify opportunities to develop skills relevant to the professional practice of the law.

Workload

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. The unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

Student experience, not official rules. Nothing here changes what the Handbook says.