Sport and the Law - The Scots Perspective

edited by William J. Stewart

Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 2000
Pp.216, £50.00 (pb)
ISBN 0 567 00563 1

Reviewed by:
DAVID McARDLE
University of the West Indies, Trinidad

In his preface to Sport and The Law – The Scots Perspective, Donald Findlay QC suggests that the book ‘will serve as a most useful aid to those already involved with [sports law]’, and expresses the hope that it will ‘encourage other lawyers’ to take an interest in the discipline. Leaving aside the old chestnut of whether there is such a discipline as ‘sports law’ in any event, it is fair to say that this book does not quite scale those dizzy heights. Although it might ‘encourage other lawyers’, its utility as a resource for those already practising in the area is limited. However, that certainly doesn’t mean the book is without merit.

Eleven academic and practising lawyers – ‘The Great and the Good of Scottish Sports Law’ – have joined forces to produce an eminently readable and thought-provoking overview of Scottish law’s impact upon the industry. Four chapters analyse the impact of the law on specific sports, while the other seven provide a more general overview of the area.

Stewart’s first chapter, entitled ‘Law for the Sportsperson’, provides a brief introduction to the Scottish legal system, and while most practising lawyers will find nothing new here, many sports administrators will find this section to be the most valuable for its consideration of fundamental terms and concepts. Miller’s chapter on judicial review of disciplinary decisions has more to offer than other pieces on the same topic and his insightful conclusions on the role of ‘sports lawyers’ (to provide security against over-enthusiasm on the part of ‘good laymen’ rather than to be ambulance-chasers) are well made. Morris and Spink’s piece on the work of the Court of Arbitration for Sport is as well-written and insightful as their other work in the field. Contributions from Middleton and Grossett on European Community (sic) law and doping provide valuable guidance on important topics that no collection on ‘sports law’ can properly ignore – even if the impact of Scottish law on these areas has been decidedly limited. The last four chapters (Messrs Duff, Crerar, Williamson and Stewart) analyse how Scottish law has impacted upon the sports of football, rugby, golf and skiing respectively, and these worthy chapters will be the ones of most use to practitioners already working in the area.

The other two pieces in the collection are the most problematic. Barton’s ‘Law for the Club Secretary’ introduces those undervalued individuals to myriad areas of the law that impinge upon their work, be they full-time administrators or volunteers. However, the desire to cover as many aspects as possible means very little can be said about any of them. An introductory paragraph, emphasising that what follows is an attempt to ‘flag up’ issues by bringing administrators’ attention to areas where legal advice might usefully be sought, would have been useful. In a different vein, Fletcher’s chapter on sports contracts is as pertinent for what it reveals about the habitus of those working in the sports firmament (whether as players, administrators, lawyers or agents) as it is for its discussion of the legal principles. ‘Knowledge and genuine enthusiasm for the sport is vital’; a ‘strong technical knowledge’ of the sport, its personalities and traditions will help oil the wheels in one’s dealings with members of this ‘narrow and conservative’ industry. In other words, you can only hope to do the job properly if you are ‘one of the boys’. By drawing on Bourdieu and Foucault one could carry out some eminently worthwhile ethnographic research on the social games of sports lawyers. This chapter would provide some useful data for such a project.

The publishers have missed an open goal by failing to target this book at students taking ‘sports law’ modules, whether on Sports Studies/Leisure Management programmes or on Law degrees at Scottish universities. Inevitably, the stumbling block in that respect is the price, but Sport and the Law – The Scots Perspective fills a niche, and those who teach such courses should place a copy or two on Short Loan. The conscientious lawyer will find this a rewarding bedtime read, but it falls short of being required reading for the practitioner, and if a second edition is contemplated, perhaps more thought could be given to what the intended audience is and how that audience can be reached. Some ruthless editing might be required too. There are grammatical errors and banalities, ‘Both as lawyers and sportsmen, Scots people have taken a pride in the standards which they set and also in the ethical standards to which they adhere’, which should never have seen the printer’s ink.

Citation: McArdle, David, 'Sport and the Law – The Scots Perspective, edited by William J. Stewart', Entertainment and Sports Law Journal (ESLJ) Volume1, Number 1 <http://www.warwick.ac.uk/go/eslj/issues/volume1/number1/reviews/mcardle/>