Separate Sports Law In India: Need Of The Hour

Introduction

Sports has become a multi billion money making industry which has extended to every part of the world and involves a huge number of human resources associated with it and hence, it is bound to have clashes, conflict of interests, disputes, harms, losses, injuries, violation of rights etc. both on and off the court and the playing field. So, here comes the question as to how would you tackle the above mentioned problems and give solutions to it. So, here to solve these problems there must be sports laws present for the same. Also, when the sports industry has grown so much all over the world and is still growing beyond expectations in many parts of the world and so there must be laws for sports and its governance like any other laws that we have. So, now here comes the problem that many countries throughout the world have enacted their own legislations for sports, but there are still others who haven’t and India is one such country amongst these.

India in the past has formulated the National Sports Policy in 1984 and 2002, National Sports Development Bill 2013, National Sports Ethics Commission Bill 2016, etc. but then there is no proof as to these coming into practice and being followed which is said to be totally in the negative. Sports is a state subject under entry 33 of the Indian Constitution but till date it hasn’t been found helpful. So, when there is no separate sports law in India even when it is much urgently required, the sports related disputes and matters are sorted out by placing it under different laws according to their nature and circumstances like the Law of Torts, Contracts, Intellectual Property Rights, Criminal Laws, Competition Law, etc. and by doing so the purpose of sports and matters related to it has never been fulfilled.

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You cannot place a subject or different branch of law under various other laws and legislations but need to enact oe for its separate and independent functioning.

Hindrances in the field of sports – way for separate sports law

Now lets see the various problems in the field of sports which will make you realise that there is an immediate dire to enact a separate legislation for sports in India.

· As India being a densely populated country, even when we have established laws for various other branches still we are not getting success in it and also there are lots of cases pending in the courts, the violation of laws and rights of people still continues and so the people of the nation and their interests are not served and taken care of properly, so what do you think that when in such a big country and such a big industry of sports , where we don’t have any laws only then how would it function properly or the interests of the sportspersons would be looked upon or would the aims of sports be achieved. Also, when there is an inability of the courts to function well how would sports related cases be solved on an urgent basis in the absence of this legislations. It has also happened many a times that while the sportspersons are having their cases going on in the courts, but the judiciary is not able to perform independently and takes a lot of time to decide the case, either the competition gets over or the career of the sportspersons is affected badly. Also, when a country like India is a victim of corruption and dirty politics and also it doesn’t want to get rid of this, how would the clean and innocent sportsperson be able to survive.

• When the sports governing bodies are given autonomy of power, they forget all their goals and visions for which they are set up and given autonomy, but misuse their power and are maladministered.
• The politics and corruption in sports leads to politicians being part of the policy making and administration wing of these governing bodies, rather than persons having education, qualifications and experience in the said field should be made a part of it.
• Also, when we talk about betting and gambling in sports, there must be a law to govern these because in its absence, this issue is being tackled by local laws for betting and gambling n various states which are not uniformly made and hence, hamper the interests of people interested in betting and gambling.
• When the issue of gender discrimination is to be looked into then without said legislation the problems like equal pay and treatment for both male and female athletes, transgender athletes are to be involved or not etc. cannot be answered.
• The sports governing bodies and National Sports Federations are not working properly and are intransparent, unaccountable and are full of bad politics and corruption.
• The issue of match-fixing whether to be made legal or illegal is a problem.
• In the era of e-world, e-gaming and e-sports has been playing a major role and so when we even don’t have law for the offline mode of sports and gaming or on court sports how and when will the issue of e-sport be solved.

Conclusion

There, is an urgent dire for the enactment of distinct sports law in India as there are lt many issues which are to be answered and also these issues are there since a longtime and not just which have emerged in a day or two. What is the government doing for this and then expecting and taunting National Sports Federations and coaches for not winning medals at the international level. To achieve big and to compete at the international level and to be at par with other athletes from all over the world you need to be one step ahead of them which is possible when you have proper resources and proper support from your own country which can be done if we have a separate sports law in India which is to be enacted and the sports sector is free from corruption and politics and the government gets rid of these we can achieve big and do wonders.

Also, the mindset of all of us is to be changed from ‘I’ to ‘WE’.

Sports being an industry with lot many career options and opportunities the government has to take steps to aware people and students regarding various options in the field of sports and also sports law is a different branch of law wherein people can specialize and later on practice sports law , but this can only happen when we have a law for sports.

So, the solutions to all the problems that we have discussed through this article and before the other issues pop up which are on their way, India must have a separate distinct law for sports in the country.

Suggestions

We must have a separate court or tribunal to solve sports cases . so this would dispose off and solve cases in a quicker way and more efficiently.

• If the sports governing bodies are to be given autonomy of power then for that they must be given a proper set of rules which are to be followed, failing which they will be punished or penalized and all these sports governing bodies and National Sports Federations must be brought under one umbrella.
• Stricter punishments must be made for the violators and the one who play politics and use corruption as a way to enter into the sports bodies .
• The constitution of sports governing bodies must be made properly and its election must be done in a very proper and strict manner.
• The government must make sports an integral part of the curriculum at schools as well as university levels and also proper guidelines for the same must be laid down and the government must make arrangements for the talent identification of sportspersons and help them find a proper path in their interested area. If the government performs this function well with out any bias it will be able to achieve its dreams of podium finish at the international level.
• The enacted law should mention the punishments for the wrongdoers as well as mention the ways in which speedy justice can be awarded and must be made in a simple way wherein the sports persons and there coacher and managers,etc. are able to understand it and not be made very complicated .
• The aspect of e-sports and cyber crimes associated with it are to be looked into carefully and taken care of.
• Also, the government must either make laws which help the athletes or directly help the athlete whenever in need and also when if the athlete needs to go the Court for Arbitration in Sports (CAS).
• A proper code of ethics and code of conduct is to be laid down which is to be followed by all sportspersons, coaches, managers, referees, etc.
• To enact a sports law wherein all the issues and problems are answered in a way understandable to all and helpful to all.