ASSER launched its first summer programme on international sports law
The ASSER International Sports Law Centre, an academic centre for research, information and education in International & European Sports Law, launched its first summer programme covering ‘The Expanding Area of International Sports Law’ in The Hague , 1-5 July, 2013.
The Programme was supported by the Inter-University Research in International Sports Law (IRIS) cooperative which includes: the University of Amsterdam, Leiden University, Tilburg University, KU Leuven University, VU University Amsterdam and Erasmus University Rotterdam.
The diverse participant population included representation from Europe (Denmark, United Kingdom, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Hungary, The Netherlands, Greece, Denmark, Albania), the Middle East, Asia and Russia and from various sectors of the sports law community, including students, academics, lawyers, policy officers and federation and sports organisation representatives.
Twenty years ago the concept of “sports law” would have been foreign to most. Today, it is far more widely recognised as an established field of legal scholarship and practice, perhaps because it is a lucrative business that generates some $35 billion per year in revenue or perhaps due to the high profile of athletes, sports clubs and organisations’ seemingly endless encounters with the law.
The week-long summer programme provided an overview of the ever expanding area of sports law and the topics of law that impact upon sports. The Programme was led by a number of internationally renowned sports law experts, academics, practitioners, arbitrators and public officials and included lectures, discussion, workshops, site visits and networking opportunities.
That the summer progamme was well received and fulfilled a clear need in the market is echoed in the many enthusiastic comments of participants, for example “It is an amazing opportunity to study sports law related aspects with people from the most different cultural background. Besides that, the quality of the speakers should also be referred as it makes the summer programme very interesting and allows participants to debate up to (different) subjects with qualified experts in the area.”
The summer programme will be delivered again in 2014.
