LEX MERCATORIA AND LEX SPORTIVA: PECULIARITIES, SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES

International law rules with regard to the regulation of sports activities at the universal and regional levels developed by states and international intergovernmental organizations have formed a set of norms ensuring international cooperation in the field of sport, namely, international sports law.
What is the nature of the set of rules governing cross-border relations in the field of sport? They are mainly the result of rule-making carried out by the International Olympic Committee (the IOC) and the international Olympic Sports Federations. The article analyzes the approaches proposed by Western authors and applicable to the solution of the issue under consideration, elucidates the main provisions of the concepts of unified law governing relations between groups proposed by Georges Scelle, transnational law proposed by Phillip C. Jessup, and true international law proposed by C. Vedder.
However, the best explanation for the interaction between national sports associations and international nongovernmental organizations of the Olympic Movement is provided by lex sportiva. Lex sportiva is similar to lex mercatoria that is used to regulate international trade. Both complexes have such properties as normativeness, non-systematicity, autonomy in the regulation and resolution of disputes. However, lex sportiva is characterized by a greater degree of institutionalization than lex mercatoria. There are two factors that contribute hereto: a pyramidal structure of the Olympic movement and activities of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne that was founded in 1983 at the IOC initiative. A greater degree of institutionalization of lex sportiva provides the right method for selection of norms and contributes to a stronger regulatory order in the field of Olympic sport.
At the present stage, there is a tendency whereby the law created by States perceives useful designs that have arisen in non-legal regulatory complexes giving them legal effect. Therefore, modern lawyers should familiarize themselves with the content of the norms and rules emerging in non-legal complexes in areas of their concern in order to foresee what impact such norms can have on the development of the legal norms in the near future. 

1. Alekseev S. V. Mezhdunarodnoe sportivnoe pravo [International sports law]. P.V. Krasheninnikov (ed.). Moscow, Zakon i pravo Publ., 2008. (In Russ.)

2. Anufrieva L. P. Mezhdunarodnoe chastnoe pravo : uchebnik : v 3 t. [Private International Law: A textbook; in 3 volumes]. 2nd ed., revised and supplemented. Moscow, Bek Publ., 2002. Vol. 2: Special Part. (In Russ.)

3. Anufrieva L. P. Prepodavanie kursa «Mezhdunarodnyy kommercheskiy arbitrazh» : nauchno-prakticheskoe posobie [Teaching the course “International Commercial Arbitration”: A scientific and practical guide]. Moscow, RLA MJ RF Publishing House, 2006. (In Russ.)

4. Velyaminov G. M. Mzhdunarodnoe ekonomicheskoe pravo i protsess (akademicheskiy kurs) : uchebnik [International Economic Law and Process (Academic Course): A textbook]. Moscow, Walters Kluver, 2004. (In Russ.)

5. Zakharova L. I. Mezhdunarodnoe sotrudnichestvo v oblasti sporta. Gl. 25 : Mezhdunarodnoe sotrudnichestvo v nauchno-tekhnicheskoy i inykh oblastyakh [International cooperation in the field of sport. Ch. 25 : International Cooperation in Scientific and Technical and Other Fields]. Mezhdunarodnoe publichnoe pravo : uchebnik [Public International Law: A textbook]. K. A. Bekyashev (ed.). 5th ed., revised and supplemented. Moscow, Prospekt Publ., 2011. (In Russ.)

6. Zakharova L. I. 6. Mezhdunarodnoe sportivnoe pravo : uchebnik dlya bakalavrov [International Sports Law: A Textbook for Bachelor students]. K. A. Bekyashev (ed.). Moscow, Prospekt Publ., 2017. (In Russ.)

7. Zakharova L. I. «O sport, ty — mir!» Rol mezhdunarodnogo prava, lex sportiva i lex olympica v regulirovanii mezhdunarodnykh sportivnykh otnosheniy [“O sport, you are the world!” The role of international law, lex sportivа and lex olympica in the regulation of international sports relations]. Moscow, Tsentralnaya Printing House, 2013. (In Rus.)

8. Ponkin I. V., Ponkina A. I. O korrelyatsii lex sportiva i sportivnogo prava [On correlation between lex sportiva and sports law]. Vestnik RUDN. Seriya : Yuridicheskie nauki [RUDN Journal of Law]. 2012. No. 3. (In Russ.)

9. Solovyov A. A. Zarubezhnye modeli i opyt kodifikatsii sportivnogo zakonodatelstva [Foreign models and experience of codification of sports legislation]. Sports Law Commission of the Association of Lawyers of Russia. Moscow, 2011. (In Russ.)

10. Shurshalov V. M. Mezhdunarodnye pravootnosheniya [International Legal Relations]. Moscow, Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya Publ., 1971. (In Russ.)

11. Buy F., Marmayou J.-M., Poracchia D., Rizzo F. Droit du sport. Paris, 2009.

12. Jessup P. Transnational Law. New Haven, 1956.

13. Nafziger J. International Sports Law. Dobbs Ferry, New York: Transnational Publishers, Inc., 1988.

14. Panagiotopoulos D. Sports Law. Lex Sportiva and Lex Olympica. Theory and Praxis. Athens: Ant. N. Sakkoulas Publishers, 2011.

15. Panagiotopoulos D. Lex Sportiva and international legitimacy in sports activities. Seventh International Scientific and Practical Conference “Globalization of Sport: Olympic Games and international competitions”: Proceedings of the conference. D. I. Rogachev, O. A. Shevchenko (eds). Moscow, 2013.

16. Panagiotopoulos D. (ed.) The Sports Law in the 21st Century. Proceedings of the 1st Pan-Hellenic Congress with International Participation. Hellenic Center of Research on Sports Law, Hellin. Athens, 1999.

17. Rigozzi A. L’Arbitrage international en matière de sport. Paris: Bruylant, L.G.D.J., Helbing & Lichtenhahn, 2005.

18. Scelle G. Précis de droit des gens. Paris: Recueil Sirey, 1932.

19. Stathopoulos M. Sports and European Community Law. Proceedings of the 5th IASL Congress, Nafplion 10—12 July, ELLIN/ed. by D. Panagiotopoulos. Athens, 1997.

20. Thierry H. The Thought of Georges Scelle. European Journal of International Law. 1990. Vol. 1.

21. Vedder C. The International Olympic Committee: An Advanced Non-Governmental Organization and the International Law. German Yearbook of International Law. 1984. Vol. 27.

22. Von Verdross A. Le fondement du droit international. Recueil des Cours. Académie de droit international de La Haye. 1927. Vol. 16.