Month: December 2008

For the past decade or so, sports law has developed into a distinct area of law.  It is, however, surprising that there are so few dedicated texts dealing with this fascinating and topical area of law.  Sports: Law and Practice, edited by Adam Lewis and Jonathan Taylor, aims to provide a comprehensive, authoritative and accessible account of the relevant principles.  To my mind, it achieves this aim with considerable ease and aplomb.

Whilst edited by two leading practitioners, Sport: Law and Practice also boasts an impressive list of contributors.  Written in an engaging and accessible way, the text is divided into seven distinct parts: the constitutional structure of the sports sector; European Community law and sport; human rights and sport; issues for individual sportsmen and women; drug use in sport; the organisation of sports entities; the commercialisation of sports properties; and the 2012 Olympics.  Each part is then subdivided into specific chapters.  The editors should be commended for this approach because it lays out the material in a logical way which allows the relevant information to be quickly located.

Like the first edition, Sports: Law and Practice is a thoroughly researched and authoritative text.  It has impressively detailed footnotes which are an excellent starting point for further research.  It also impressively considers the leading sports law cases, together with some lesser known ones, and includes a number of excellent check-lists and precedents which readers can adapt or use as a basis for drafting.  For example, in the section on sports grounds, there are a number of precedent clauses which the reader can built into their own commercial agreements.

Readers will be pleased that Sports: Law and Practice is, like the first edition, a wonderfully written and authoritative account of sport law and practice.  The editors and contributors should be commended because its title explains exactly what the text is: a practical and accurate account of sport law for the busy practitioner.  No practitioner should be without this text, nor anyone interested or advising on this complex, interesting and topical area of law.

Reviewed on 1 December 2008