Islj 2009 3-4 - TMC Asser Instituut

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an autonomous country in the Kingdom, based on the UN sanctioned right of self-determination of the people of former colonies; the spirit of the UN Resolution calls for special support and assistance to small island-nations; there is no central NOC in the Kingdom and the other countries within the Kingdom do have their own NOCs; no third party will suffer damage or political discomfort; Curaçao cannot be considered among the parties against whom the guarding effect of Rule 31.1 was introduced; the non-discriminating principle of Olympism and the Access doctrine of Sports Law, these all justify a special appeal to the IOC to not simply apply Rule 31.1, but to decide ex aequo et bono on the CSF request for recognition. I have searched for jurisprudence concerning the matter as described in this Thesis 94 . I hate to say I could not find any. On the other hand, the Curaçao/CSF case is a unique one and therefore will hopefully be treated as such. I feel comfortable that all the mentioned arguments will contribute to achieve a deeper look into the CSF request rather than just a routine judgment by the NOC Relations Department of the IOC and that the spirit of Olympism will prevail, making a procedure at the CAS unnecessary. In support of its request the CSF is advised to include the following legalized documents in its petition to the IOC: 1. Copy of the Charter of the Kingdom. 2. Copy of the sport structure of Curaçao and a version of the adapted CSF Statute. 3. Copy of translated minutes of the General Assembly meeting of April 1, 2009. 4. Formal letter of the island government, e.g. the Lt. Governor, stating the stipulated day of the constitutional change. 8. Conclusion and recommendations In the introduction I have made it no secret that my research would be directed to finding legal and rightful arguments in favor of the CSF rightful desire to be recognized by the IOC as the NOC of an autonomous Curaçao. During the course of the study I was inspired, not only by the expressed dream of many with whom I have discussed my point of view, but also by the lack of confidence and esteem noted at several known people at the helm of our community. They both have been very valuable to me and I sincerely hope to share the moment with them all, seeing the Curaçao flag carried into the Olympic stadium in 2012 in London. Conclusion The Thesis I have formulated reads: Is, in the year 2009, the verbatim text of Rule 31.1 of the Olympic Charter, a private law provision in accordance with Swiss Law, a rightful ground for withholding IOC recognition to an NOC of an autonomous Curaçao? The answer to me is firmly NO. In the year 2009, the verbatim text of Rule 31.1 of the Olympic Charter, a private law provision in accordance with Swiss Law, is NOT a rightful ground for withholding IOC recognition to an NOC of an autonomous Curaçao!! 94 www.tas-cas.org/jurisprudence-archives. This conclusion is supported by all the detailed information given and formulated in the arguments included in Chapter 7. I am of the opinion that I have established sufficient legal grounds for a substantiated request by the CSF for IOC recognition and also for an arbitration trial of the matter at the CAS, if deemed necessary. Except for the verbatim text of Rule 31.1, I have encountered no justifying grounds to act against the constitutional choice of the people of Curaçao by withholding the IOC recognition to CSF. Aside from answering the Thesis itself, I consider it of great importance to explicitly mention that the research uncovered objectionable information against the NAOC and its allies for their willful concerted actions against the interest of Curaçao and the rights of the CSF. I refer to the several documents mentioned and also to the choice made unanimously by the General Assembly of the CSF of April 1 last to pursue its own IOC recognition; until then this was systematically obfuscated and discouraged by the NAOC, which in my view has acted shamelessly against the principles of good faith and duty of care. Recommendations My first recommendation to the CSF is to consistently monitor the NAOC moves regarding this matter and to protect its future rights immediately, whenever needed. Parallel with this safeguarding process, the CSF should follow a logical sequence of connected activities to be most efficient. Basically these are the Sine Qua Non items mentioned in Chapter 6. First priority for the CSF is to assure availability of funds needed to carry out the converting process. In order to be entitled to government finances I have advised to approach the Island Council with a petition in which the alteration is presented as a direct consequence of the constitutional change and thus attempt to qualify for the available financial help covering the effects of the change. Once there is clarity on the financial means, the CSF must timely hire a knowledgeable international legal professional, with the relevant network and totally knowledgeable with IOC/CAS procedures. This person will be needed to prepare the initial request to IOC. The arguments mentioned in chapter 7 should be very instrumental to the composition of the request. The early hiring of the legal expert will contribute to efficient use of the time left to run the CSF request through the IOC and if needed, through the tribunal procedure at the CAS. In any case, the available time is limited to two years, marked by the next Games. While busy trying to secure funds through the government, it is recommended that the CSF contacts a local civil law notary and starts to provide information for adapting its Memorandum of Association to become Olympic Charter compatible. Once hired, the legal advisor previously mentioned, can be of help to make sure the adaptations will be correct and complete. Secondly I advise to timely support and encouraging of the CSF affiliated federations to make an early start with their preparatory work towards adaption of their own Memorandums of Association in accordance with the requirements of their respective international bodies. For efficiency reasons, it would be advisable to involve the same civil law notary as the one working on the CSF adaptation. And, finally, I strongly suggest the appointment of a result-oriented coordinator to consistently supervise the entire process. There are only two years left. Closing remarks The selected Thesis and the way I choose to handle it, were a bit more time consuming than I could afford. There were too many moments that I had to depend on the cooperation of some busy people, which certainly tested my patience and resilience. Nevertheless, I am happy with the result and do hope it may contribute to taking the country Curaçao to London in 2012. Successfully completing law school symbolizes the fulfillment of a promise I made. Freed from this, I will now prepare to confront new challenges. Despite my age, I feel there is still time enough to extend the utilization of the many things I have learned in life so far. The years at law school have certainly enriches me, not only in legal knowledge but also the stamina in studying documents and raises my interest significantly for a much wider area then earlier. So with for sure a lot more in the quiver bag than when I started four years ago, I leave the University of the Netherlands Antilles and hope that its own future within the dissolving constellation will be well guarded so that many more will benefit from this good institute. Abbreviations BES Bonaire - St. Eustatius - Saba CAS Court of Arbitration for Sports CSF Curaçao Sports Federation ETA Basque homeland freedom movement EU European Union FIFA Federation of International Football Associations 58 2009/3-4 A RT I C L E S
ICAS International Council for Arbitration in Sports ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights IF Island Federations IOC International Olympic Committee IRA Irish Republican Army NAOC Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee NAVU Netherlands Antilles Soccer Union NF National Federation NOC National Olympic Committee NOC/NSF National Olympic Committee / Netherlands Sports Federation ODESUR Sports organization of South America PLO Palestinian Liberation Organization UN United Nations ❖ At Last, a Football Law in the Netherlands? by Peter T.M. Coenen* Introduction For a long time there has been a discussion about football specific legislation in the Netherlands. It seems like this legislation will finally enter into force before the end of 2009. The proposed legislation is currently awaiting approval from the First Chamber of Parliament in the Netherlands. The proposed law has come a long way, since its conception as a law specifically and exclusively designed to deal with the problem of football hooliganism. The proposed Football Law is now incorporated into a much broader piece of legislation, designed to deal with a myriad of different public order offences. The proposed law, as initiated by the Dutch cabinet, has been passed by the Second Chamber of Parliament. The Second Chamber however, has added some possibly controversial amendments. Approval of the proposed Football Law by the First Chamber of Parliament is anticipated before the end of 2009. This paper will provide an in depth look into the proposed Foot - ball Law in the Netherlands. This paper will look at how the Dutch legislature attempts to deal with the problem of football hooliganism. The Netherlands has been able to look at similar legislation in a number of other countries and has been able to learn from the difficulties these countries have encountered with this legislation. The Dutch legislature has come up with a fairly moderate proposed law, which avoids a lot of the draconian measures present in comparable laws in other countries. This paper attempts to give an overview of the Dutch legislation and show how this proposed law fits in the current array of measures to combat football hooliganism in the Netherlands. First, a look will be provided at the history of the proposed Football Law. Secondly, this paper will look at the actual text of the proposed Football Law. Finally, this paper will look at how the proposed Football Law could work within the current framework of measures to deal with football hooliganism in the Netherlands. Why a Football Law? “If there would have been a Football Law in the Netherlands, these hooligans would have never been able to attend this game.” These are the words of Onno Jacobs, the financial director of Feyenoord Rotterdam. Feyenoord had just played a game in the UEFA Cup tournament in the French city of Nancy against the local team, AS Nancy. Feyenoord had lost the game, and even worse, the fans of the Rotterdam team had rioted before and during the game. The game had to be interrupted for half an hour as fights broke out in the stands and the police had to restrain the hooligans with tear gas. Feyenoord fans had already fought with the police in the city centre before the game. As a result of the behavior of the fans, Feyenoord was thrown out of the UEFA Cup tournament. In the weeks leading up to the game, the team had been worried that hooligans might use this game as an occasion to misbehave. Approximately 3000 Dutch fans came to Nancy on the day of the game. Feyenoord had sold 1300 tickets to its fans through its official channels to registered fans of Feyenoord. This way Feyenoord ensured they were aware of the identity of these fans. Through this ticketing system, the Rotterdam club hoped to control the tickets and see that they did not end up in the hands of known hooligans. However, this means also that about 1700 fans were present in Nancy that either did not have a valid ticket for the game or had gotten their tickets for the game through other channels. Feyenoord, even before the game, had received strong indications that known hooligans wanted to travel to Nancy for the game. There had been problems at a number of international games previously and the club was put on notice by UEFA that any more problems would result in a severe penalty. Feyenoord’s board therefore urged the supporters to behave in Nancy. Unfortunately this plea could not prevent the outbreak of serious riots at the match against Nancy. In the aftermath of the riots in Nancy, it became clear that at least a number of the hooligans present had stadium bans for the stadiums in the Netherlands. For the board of Feyenoord, and for a lot of other people it was clear. The time had come for a Football Law. Feyenoord started an action on its website, collecting signatures of supporters of a Football Law. Furthermore, the Rotterdam club put a large advertisement in a national newspaper, asking for a Football Law. The newspaper- ad was signed by a lot of famous Dutch people, including current Vice Prime Minister Wouter Bos. The result of these riots and the ensuing media coverage, as happens so often in the aftermath of such a serious incident, was that the subject of a Football Law in the Netherlands came to the top of the agenda again of policymakers in the Netherlands. Onno Jacobs urged the political parties in the Netherlands to act. “In a Football Law, a reporting duty can be implemented. In that case these hooligans would have never been able to travel to Nancy.” The theory in this case is that if a hooligan (or a suspected hooligan) who has misbehaved in the past at football games, has to report at the local police station at the time of the games of his favorite club or country, that hooligan cannot be present at those games and therefore cannot cause any more disorder. On May 9, 2008, the Dutch cabinet approved the long-awaited Football Law. The Football Law was then discussed in the Second Chamber of Parliament. During the discussions in the second Cham - ber, the Football Law was amended on a couple of important points. The amended Football Law was passed by the Second Chamber of * Peter Coenen currently works for the University of Lucerne School of Law. He is a member of the Comparative and Anglo- American Law department. He received an LLM degree at the George Washington University in Washington, DC and both a Bachelor and Masters of Law from University of Maastricht. A RT I C L E S 2009/3-4 59
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2009/3-4 EU Sports Policy FIFA Tran
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EDITORIAL 2 ARTICLES The Future EU
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The Future EU Sports Policy: Hollow
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Community a new dimension, such as
Page 9 and 10: Sports Ministers Conference, The Ha
Page 11 and 12: and 15) that the provisions of Comm
Page 13 and 14: The Case against the Applicability
Page 15: not fall within the wording “tran
Page 19 and 20: 4 See also in support of this argum
Page 21 and 22: This is not an unrealistic career p
Page 23 and 24: cerned, the specificity of sport, a
Page 25 and 26: compensated for the income it could
Page 27: A more basic question is what weigh
Page 31 and 32: Article 17 (6) For a player over 23
Page 33 and 34: live sports rights in many other co
Page 35 and 36: equired coverage of 90% is not met.
Page 37 and 38: letes in any form, even including a
Page 39 and 40: Article 95 of the CHL Rules governs
Page 41 and 42: The RFL may declare that a player w
Page 43 and 44: ices acquired by the clubs in the r
Page 45 and 46: competition (thereby enhancing the
Page 47 and 48: Each country of the Kingdom has all
Page 49: 2.2.The objectionable NAOC intentio
Page 53 and 54: Sub Rule 29.5 It reads “The area
Page 55 and 56: To secure the appreciation of CAS i
Page 57 and 58: 5.3 Recognition by the internationa
Page 59: however it will all come to the lev
Page 63: or serious bodily harm. Such prepar
Page 66 and 67: cumstances arise, a measure can be
Page 68 and 69: to the amount of regulations in the
Page 70 and 71: 4.1. The relationship between sport
Page 72 and 73: 5. Conclusion In this article I hav
Page 76 and 77: ing a player. In order to create an
Page 78 and 79: 9 The ‘reserve clause’ gave clu
Page 80 and 81: In this research, the focus will be
Page 82 and 83: sports agent will not bargain at ar
Page 84 and 85: have a dominant position. Thereafte
Page 88 and 89: 3.5.2. Regulations of the KNVB The
Page 90 and 91: Siekmann, R.C.R., Parrish, R., Bran
Page 92 and 93: limit on the number of times a play
Page 94 and 95: to these regulations. This refers,
Page 96 and 97: Article 4 of the Act No. 401/1989 p
Page 98 and 99: any tax evasions. Added to this is
Page 100 and 101: the machines while, at the same tim
Page 102 and 103: saw sports betting as an easy way t
Page 104 and 105: mulated by football clubs, it was a
Page 106 and 107: tions,” which means that there we
Page 108 and 109: which includes the state monopoly a
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estricted items” and, together wi
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influence on the society. 7 Amendme
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6.4. Compatibility with Article 49
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ting market is the fact that most o
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as local). 7 The amount of the paid
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estriction in the most extensive wa
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Conditions for organizing sports be
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Although Delaware discontinued its
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Sports Betting: Law and Policy. A U
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deterred because electronic transac
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lenging time for the industry. As a
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CAS Publishes the Decisions Rendere
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tickets.com>, , and be transferre
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4. to Tottenham Hostpur Public Lim
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Football League after government pr
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Football had given them a rare outl
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Moseneke wanted everyone to underst
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men and to repair the damage that h
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a day of jet travel for any competi
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television rights to the games, 67
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extraterritoriality nor a division
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cal matter, deter interference of h
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Thus, International Law, once a law
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en. 248 Typically, two separate con
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Guarantors would have undertaken to
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ing a professional football club or
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“TRANSLATING IS THINKING WITH ANO
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