Sports Law & Welfare Association of India (India)
http://www.sportslawindia.info/President: MR Prahlad Singh Patel
E-mail: prahladp@sansad.nic.in
Phone: 91-11-2371-1566
Secretary General: Dr. Amaresh Kumar
E-mail: dramaresh@sportslawindia.info
Phone: 91-751-5000114
Fax: 91-751-500113
What is Sports Law?
Sports law is one of those fields of law that is applied law in the field of sports, physical education and its related field. It is a pure law as opposed to theoretical law and is concerned with how law in general interacts with the activity known as sports.
The growing interaction between sports and law has created a new need for a greater understanding of how the law relates to the sporting world. The center based at LNIPE Gwalior is the first of its kind started in 1996 to offer expertise law consultations to the need of sports in the legal regulation of sport in a modern reality and as an amalgam of such diverse legal disciplines as sports law and policy, contract, tort, taxation, labor, competition, TV rights, match fixing and related criminal laws.
About us
The Sports Law & Welfare Association of India (SLAWIN) is a nonprofit, national, professional, organization whose common goal is the understanding, advancement, and ethical practice of, "Sports Law" in India for the promotion of Sports, by bringing Legal Practitioners and Sports persons together.
The front pages of newspapers are a daily reminder of human folly, be it corruption, bribery, rape, murder, Illicit sex and drug abuse.
That is why many of us bypass the news and turn to sports in search of something more inspiring. Yet lately sports has had an uncharacteristic run on the front page due to its own failing. Stories such as the Olympic games bidding scandal, the Peter Korda drug doping affairs, and Cricket series of stumbles over mach fixing, payments from bookies and Ranatunga debacles Demonstrates the obvious-- sports has a dark side like other affairs .
Of course, sports has always had its disputes - a notable feature of late is the increasing and decisive role of lawyers in settling outcomes.
Further, recent victories by Arjuna Ranatunga over the International Cricket Council and Korda over the International Tennis Federation were widely condemned because lawyers exploited legal loopholes in the sporting rules-book. Malcolm Speed, the Australian Cricket Board's Chief Executive, doesn't like the fact the sport is a growth industry for lawyers; but nowadays, he says, legal training is crucial for professional sports administrators.
In the last year alone I have handled several matters in various High Courts and the Supreme Court of India settling the disputes for holding the office of the Triathlon Federation of India. In which due to the lack of legal training the matters were hanging in the several High Courts of India. Where as on pleading in the matter I submitted before the Honorable Supreme Court of India that "under the provisions of the Constitution of the Indian Olympic Association there is an Arbitration clause in such a disputes by IOA, so that the Sportsmen and Sports shall not suffer". Agreeing the provisions of the IOA Honorable Supreme Court of India directed the IOA to appoint an Arbitrator in the matter and settle the disputes.
Thus in compliance of the direction of the judgment of Supreme Court of India the long battle of two groups of TFI had been resolved and the sports show of The TFI is in the smooth sail.
Like it or not, the infiltration of law in sports is on a permanent growth curve and the," modern sports administrators" has to rely heavily on legal advice. "Sports Law" is a growth industry in many part of the world .Solicitors, Attorneys and Lawyers in other countries like America, Canada, and Australia and New Zealand and playing their prominent roles in the growth of, "Sports Law" in their countries.
In India, "Sports Law" is very new and growing with the imaginative idea of Dr. Amaresh Kumar, who has graduated and post graduated in Physical Education, from the nation's premier and only University of Physical Education & sports, "Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education" Gwalior some where in the year 1995, when he was terminated illegally from the services of this Institute and took over the Advocacy as a challenge for his avocation. He had practiced matters related with Service, Educational, Institutional etc. but gave a new thought to practice the cases in Sports related matters. He had appeared in various High Courts and Supreme Court of India and pleaded the sports law from 1995 to 1999 - till his reinstatement.
What we do?
We have developed links and carry out consultancy work with many organizations and partners. We provide consultancy on:
- Indian sports policy - competition law etc.
- Regulation of sports governing bodies
- General sport and law issues
- Sports injuries - issues of liability
- Health and safety issues in sports
- Employment issues in sports - e.g. discrimination
- Working with children in sport
- Intellectual property issues in sport
- Online Advocating in legal disputes of sports in Court on behalf of sports persons and sports bodies
- Harassment in Sports
- Organizational matter
- Alternate dispute resolution
- To provide Educational Opportunities and disseminate data and information regarding specific areas of sports law
- To provide a forum for lawyers representing Athletes, Teams, Leagues, Conferences, Civic Recreational Programs, Educational Institutions and other Organizations involved in Professional, Collegiate, Olympic, Physical Education and Amateur Sports. SLAWIN's role is to foster the discussion of legal problems affecting sports and to promote the exchange of a variety of perspectives and positions of sports law
- To promote and, where necessary, establish rules of ethics for sports persons and practicing professional of law, its members involved in sports law
- To produce high quality research in the field of sport and the law
- To publish widely and disseminate research findings
- To provide up to date information on current sports law issues including a resource of sports law material
- To provide consultancy to sportsmen and sports bodies concerning sports law issues
- To promote undergraduate and postgraduate study, research and continuing education in sports law
- To promote ethical solutions to legal issues in sport and notions of "Fair-Play"
- To positively address all issues of discrimination in sport.