Webinar: Gender, Athletes' Rights, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport

A presentation by Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Professor Emerita, University of Toronto.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), established by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1983, poses a threat to athletes’ rights by depriving them of access to their own countries’ court systems. CAS loosely follows the model of international arbitration tribunals. As in forced arbitration outside of sport, employees – in this case, high performance athletes – sign contracts agreeing to arbitration rather than litigation as the sole means of dispute resolution.

Promoting the concept of sport exceptionalism, the IOC justifies the power it exercises through CAS by claiming that sport must be autonomous and self-regulating, with disputes settled by specialist arbitrators. Arguments in support of this position point to lex sportiva (global sports law) as a valid legal principle in sport-related disputes, which, it is claimed, cannot be understood or resolved by non-specialists.

Self-regulation works effectively to protect the Olympic industry brand by keeping disputes ‘in the family’. As well as the chronic problem of CAS’s lack of independence, other issues arise as a result of its non-precedential awards, the closed list of arbitrators, conflict of interest, and, in doping cases, the strict liability principle and burden of proof. CAS decisions involving female athletes with so-called differences of sexual development reflect numerous injustices, as South African athlete Caster Semenya’s case amply demonstrates.  Helen Jefferson Lenskyj Professor Emerita, University of Toronto, has written eight books critiquing the Olympic industry. www.helenlenskyj.ca

This webinar will take place on Thursday, 25 June 2020 from 9.00am to 10.00am AEST.

Legal practitioners may claim 1 CPD point for attendance at this event.

This free webinar is open to ANZSLA members only.    Please register via the Zoom registration link at the bottom of this page.