Islj 2009 3-4 - TMC Asser Instituut

authorities with something that was lacking before in the legal framework-a
direct way to address the most notorious violators and leaders
of the Dutch hooligan groups and to hopefully break the hierarchical
structure of these groups.
This law fits in nicely within the current legal framework to counteract
football hooliganism in the Netherlands. In case of (a threat of)
immediate violations of public order, the mayor can issue an emergency
ordinance based on the Municipalities law. This is a fairly severe
measure that impacts an individual’s constitutional rights and the
mayor accordingly needs to be very cautious in using this instrument.
However, an emergency ordinance is a measure that is an appropriate
response to very serious and immediate threats to public order, for
example a large scale riot between competing football fans within the
boundaries of the municipality the mayor is responsible for. The powers
given to the mayor in the proposed Football Law fill a void in the
possibilities for a mayor to deal with football hooligans. In those situations
where there is no immediate threat to public order that
requires the extreme measure of an emergency ordinance, but where
there is a structural pattern of public order violations by football
hooligans, this proposal offers the mayor a way to act.
In and around the stadium, the clubs and the KNVB are responsible
for maintaining the order, together with the authorities. If someone
does not behave within a stadium, that person can be expelled
from the stadium by the stewards employed by the clubs, who as representatives
of the club maintain order within the stadium. If someone’s
behavior warrants this, the KNVB can also act against this person
by giving the person concerned a civil law stadium ban.
If a person commits a football related criminal act, this can ultimately
warrant a criminal sanction. This person will then be punished for
that act by a judge upon a complaint by the prosecutor. The judge in
the case of a conviction for a football related crime can, on the basis
of article14(c) of the Criminal Code, attach a measure such as a stadium
ban, an area ban and/or a reporting duty to this conviction.
However, this possibility has not or rarely been used by judges in the
Netherlands. The powers given to the prosecutor under this law fill a
gap in the current array of legal measures, in that they provide the
possibility of handing out a measure to a person against whom there
is a strong suspicion of a criminal act who is not convicted for that act
yet. The proposed Football Law will also most likely change the attitude
of judges with regard to article 14 (c) of the Criminal Code. If
the prosecutor has already handed out a measure to a person, the
judge, upon convicting someone for a football related crime will be
more likely to take over such a measure. So while article 14 (c)
Criminal Code is rarely used at this point, it is to be expected that
after the football law enters into force, this article will be used more
often to attach conditions to a conviction for a football related crime.
In conclusion, the Football Law has been taken up in a broader
proposed law to counteract various violations of public order. This
does not mean that the Football Law does not help in combating
football hooliganism. As shown above, the Football Law fills an
important void in the powers of the mayor and prosecutor to deal
with football hooliganism. Therefore, it is to be hoped that this law
will enter into force as soon as possible.
❖
The Slovak Act on the Organization and
Support of Sport; a Missed Opportunity?
by Jozef CŠorba*
1. Introduction
The changes in the political and economic system in Slovakia that
were initiated in 1989 influenced all areas of public life including
sports. The transition from a directly controlled economy to an economy
based on market mechanisms and free competition led to the
introduction of market elements in the field of sport also. Nowadays,
sport is perceived as a ‘product’ that is supplied to an audience - consumers.
Hence, in order to be successful this product has to be of the
best quality.
To improve quality and sport results one needs high quality athletes.
Athletes can only achieve better results if they are given sufficient
time and space for preparation. The highest level of sport competition
requires systematic long-term preparation, which can only be
achieved if athletes can practice sport as their profession. It was
already apparent under the previous political system that if Slovak
athletes were to be successful and able to significantly compete with
athletes from other countries they needed to engage in sport professionally.
In the period before 1989, however, officially professional
sport did not exist in Czechoslovakia. Athletes were officially
employed in various state businesses or public bodies, where they supposedly
performed various white or blue collar functions while practising
their sport as amateurs. In reality, they performed their nonsport
jobs only in name and dedicated all their time to sports activities
and preparation for sports events on behalf of their employer.
They were therefore in an actual sense professional athletes, although
* This article was written as part of the
project APVV number LPP-0199-09
‘Inevitability and possibility of the application
of business law provisions on professional
sports activities’.
** The author is a lecturer with the
Department of Commercial and
Economic Law of the Faculty of Law of
the University of P. J. Šafárik in Košice
in Slovakia.
formally amateurs and subject to appraisal for their ‘official’ jobs
which they were in fact not doing at all.
This simulation of amateur status was eliminated from sport after
1989 and since then the highest level of sport has been organized along
the lines of the principles of professionalism. Many sport clubs transformed
into corporate bodies based on principles of private law, especially
as private law associations established on the basis of Act no.
83/1990 on associations, and more recently, especially in top sport
competitions, sport clubs have been established as companies under
the Commercial Code that came into force in 1991.
With these changes discussions also began concerning the options
for the legal regulation of this new situation in sport. Act no. 68/1956
on the organization of physical education, according to which the
relationships in amateur sports organizations are regulated, was considered
no longer suitable to the demands of this new era.
2. The development of sport legislation in Slovakia after 1989
The first decree related to the field of sport was adopted by the Slovak
parliament at the time when the Czech-Slovak Federative Republic
still existed as Act no. 198/1990 which contained 9 provisions. This
Act was, however, more of declarative than of practical importance.
On the first day of the year 1993 Czechoslovakia split into two
autonomous states and the legislative developments in both states
took their own turn, although of course the laws of both countries are
still significantly inspired by each other.
In Slovakia, Act no. 288/1997 on physical culture and on the
amendment and completion of Act no. 455/1991 on trade law were
adopted. However, this Act could not yet be considered as the fundamental
Sports Act due to its restrictive wording which fails to address
most of the questions that needed to be answered in relation to sport.
Kralik distinguishes various perspectives amongst states according
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