Professional athletes should have the right to challenge their regulatory bodies, says John Cooper
Any lawyer who has appeared in front of a regulatory tribunal, perhaps more particularly if you are representing a sports person, will realise what a foreboding and alien environment it is, when compared to the normal principle of what constitutes a fair hearing and a just decision.
It is undesirable that the public courts should be suffocated by disputes which can properly be resolved within the regulatory framework, but if that is acknowledged as a sensible and practical way forward, it should also follow that the regulatory tribunals should be perceived as fair and without bias. But perhaps even more fundamental than that, the member should be allowed access to the disciplinary process to begin with—something which does not seem to be happening.
Sporting lawyers
The involvement of lawyers in the business of sports regulatory bodies has been increasing over the last few years or so. The approach is simple. Deal with disputes with members who have offended the contractual terms of their membership, administratively, rather than as a disciplinary procedure.
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