The jurisprudence of sport: sports and games as legal systems

Abstract

The central premise of the book draws on the familiar observation that sport and state based legal systems are both rule governed practices that share a great deal in common: as the authors put it, ‘sports and games are, in a clear and recogniz-able sense, legal systems’. With that premise in mind, the book aims to both put some flesh on the bones (by suggesting examples and putting forward relevant comparisons) and, more interestingly, to prompt the reader to consider whether there is anything that each can take from the other. However, the authors also make interesting comparisons between sports and provide introductions to theoretical and philosophical concepts to help underpin and justify comparisons and to assist the reader in thinking about the aims and purposes or creating and interpreting rules in any context. As a result, the book is an excellent resource for law students and law tutors (and not just those interested in sport) who should be able to latch on to the well-chosen examples and extracts to develop under-standing of key legal concepts and skills and also underlying ethical and philosophical concepts that are equally relevant to law and sport. Of particular note are the recurring themes of definition and interpretation, the purpose and nature of sanctions, the difference between rules and standards, the use of discretion and the rationale for choosing standards of proof. Whilst the book is primarily aimed at a legal audience, it should prove of interest for philosophers of sport as an opportunity to reflect on how different sports and legal systems deal with some of the ethical problems that arise. It also provides a source of sporting examples from which to draw interesting ethical dilemmas to engage students with.