Cambridge Legal Theory Discussion Group (CLTDG): 'The Legality of Sports and Leagues Reconsidered'

Speaker: Jorge Luis Fabra-Zamora (Buffalo)

Many writers in the flourishing field of the jurisprudence of sports argue that sports and leagues are types of law. This article critically examines this view. The argument begins by criticizing the two main considerations supporting sports’ putative legal character, which I name the linguistic and systemic arguments. Then, I outline a novel account of practice-based normative phenomena, which draws on my liberal interpretation of some central themes of theories of analytical jurisprudence. My account includes a novel account of the distinctiveness of law, which restricts the domain of law to those normative orders constituting political communities—namely, large-scale norm-created groups that regulate important politico-moral issues through the exercise of strong forms of social pressure. With this view at hand, I reject the view that sports’ normative orders are best conceived as legal orders while recognizing the legal character of some leagues such as FIFA.

You can find the links to Jorge’s paper and to the meeting below:

The Paper: https://bit.ly/cltdg-fabra_zamora-paper

The Zoom link: https://bit.ly/cltdg-easter24-1

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