Department of Mercantile Law

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Browsing Department of Mercantile Law by Author "Carnelley, M.(Marita), 1962-"

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    A critical evaluation of the interaction between sport and law in South Africa
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2010) Louw, Andre Mouton; Carnelley, M.(Marita), 1962-; Schembri, Christopher; Whitcher, Benita; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Law. Department of Mercantile Law.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation contains an evaluation of the interaction between law and sport in South Africa. The evaluation includes description of the main areas where laws (in the form of the common law, legislation and the relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996) apply to sport, in the contexts of both amateur sport and the fast-developing professional sports industry. Apart from such descriptive content, the dissertation will also critically evaluate the appropriateness of the relevant laws and their application in the often atypical context of sport, as well as the courts' treatment of the relevant legal issues. In the process of providing such critical evaluation, and where relevant, the author includes a comparative analysis of the treatment of relevant legal issues in other jurisdictions (most notably the United Kingdom and European Union, which are especially relevant in light of the application of the 'European model' of sports governance and regulation, which applies to the major sporting codes in South Africa). In particular, the author critically evaluates the following aspects of the South African jurisdiction's treatment of the application of law to sport: - The South African system of public regulation of sport by the State (and, specifically, the issue of the race-based transformation of sport, which involves an apparent government-driven agenda and is unique to the South African jurisdiction); - The courts' treatment to date of the susceptibility of the conduct of sports governing bodies to judicial scrutiny (and of the nature of such bodies as voluntary associations); - Various aspects related to the application of employment laws to the employment of professional athletes in team sports; - The application of common law remedies for breach of contract in the professional sports employment context; - The potential application of the restraint of trade doctrine (in, as the author suggests, an extended_ form) in the context of the freedom of movement of professional athletes; The apparently unsatisfactory state of current South African law in respect of legal protection against commercial misappropriation of aspects of the persona of famous athletes (i.e. in the context of 'image' -or-,'publicity' rights as recognized in certain other jurisdictions); and - An evaluation of the extensive protection (especially in the form of specific legislation in South Africa) against ambush marketing of major sporting events. The author includes some concluding observations regarding the state of South African sports law as compared to other jurisdictions, as well as some comment on expectations for the future development and potential importance of the South African domestic jurisdiction in the application of law to sport.