SPORTS LAW IN SWITZERLAND LUCIEN W VALLONI & THILO PACHMANN 2011 WOLTERS KLUWER THE NETHERLANDS PAPERBACK PAGES 132 ISBN 978-90-411-3630-5 PRICE US$81
This is a very useful monograph on a wide range of sports legal issues in Switzerland authored by two members of the Sports Law Department of the leading Swiss Law Firm of Froriep Renggli, which has earned the accolade of the best sports law and arbitration firm in Switzerland. Switzerland is very important in the world of sport as many of the leading international sports governing bodies have established their headquarters in Switzerland, including the International Olympic Committee and FIFA, the world governing body of association football. Many contracts with such bodies, such as sponsorship and broadcasting agreements, are usually subject to Swiss law – or, more accurately put, subject to the corresponding Cantonal Law. So, there is a need to know what the law provides. Switzerland is also the home of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and, generally speaking, in the absence of agreement to the contrary, CAS proceedings are subject Swiss law. During its twenty-eight years of operations, the CAS has established itself as the ‘Supreme Court of World Sport’ and, needless to say, this monograph includes a section on the organisation of the CAS and also the equally important topic of appeals to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court against its decisions (‘awards’), which are quite technical and may be mounted in rather limited circumstances. The monograph also includes a very comprehensive review of the public and private regulation of national and international sports bodies, which are established as ‘associations’ under the relevant provisions of the Swiss Civil Code. This not only helps readers to understand how these bodies are organised but also how they operate, especially in the case of claims and disputes, as well as disciplinary proceedings. No publication on sports law would be complete without a section on doping and sport, and this monograph also satisfies this need with a useful review of its main features in a Swiss legal context. Likewise, there is also a section on the business aspects of sport, including image rights, sponsorship and the all-important topic of sports broadcasting rights, which generate mega sums for sports bodies and sports leagues and teams. The subjects of sports betting, players’ agents and the proverbial and wide-spread problem of hooligans and hooliganism are also well covered. The monograph is completed with a useful ‘Selected Bibliography’ and a basic Index. All in all, this is a welcome addition to the ever-expanding literature on sports law - at least, as a Book of first reference - for all those with a professional interest in sport and particularly in a jurisdiction of such legal importance as Switzerland. The authors are to be warmly congratulated on producing this monograph - a case of ‘multum in parvo’ - and the publishers in publishing it! Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw is an International Sports Lawyer and Academic and may be contacted by e-mail at ‘
