The Australian and New Zealand Sports Law Journal 2009

It's just not cricket - Charitable trusts ought to be more sporting 

Kiri Hill-Dunne 

In the field of law concerning charitable trusts for sports, New Zealand lags behind the United Kingdom and even Tasmania in terms of recognising the charitable status of trusts for the advancement of sport. New Zealand’s charity laws are tired and out of touch with societal change and legislative developments abroad, warranting a substitution. In recognition of the benefi ts that trusts for the advancement of sport bring to the community, New Zealand’s charity laws ought to be more sporting to refl ect the role that sport plays in today’s society and to encourage and reward trusts aiming to advance sports.

Sport in disrepute

Patrick George 

It is becoming common to see sportsmen on the front page of the daily newspapers – not for their sporting achievements on the fi eld but for their conduct off the fi eld. The bad publicity this generates can be damaging to the reputations of them individually, their teams and their sports. For this reason sporting bodies usually require a disrepute clause in a sportsman’s contract. These clauses are now under close scrutiny because of the serious consequences that may follow breach and because of the diffi cult circumstances that exist to make a decision when the conduct gives rise to criminal charges. This article examines the issues arising under the disrepute clause and the conduct required to demonstrate breach.

Liability for personal injury arising from the supply of recreational services

Dominic Villa

This article discusses the liability of suppliers of recreational services for personal injury sustained by participants in recreational activities in the context of changes to the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth.) and the various state Civil Liability regimes.

My ball: who owns the cricket ball once it crosses the boundary?

Geoff Ellwand 

There is a gap in Australian, New Zealand and English law that leaves untested the question of who rightfully owns balls knocked or kicked into a stand or over a fence during professional sporting competitions. Tradition, in most cases, dictates the balls be returned. Certainly that is true in cricket, which is the focus of this article. But the sports memorabilia market and the uncertain state of the law may tempt spectators to assert a right to keep errant balls. It is a possibility sporting organisations, the legal community, collectors and society in general would do well to consider.

Disciplining athletes for off-fi eld indiscretions: a comparative review of the Australian Football League and the National Football League’s personal conduct policies

James J Paterson

This paper compares the personal conduct policies of the AFL and NFL, which both act to govern the off-fi eld behaviour of players and offi cials. It provides analysis of penalties imposed on participants, and a critique of how the leagues’ commercial interests may infl uence the outcomes, as well as the judicial limits imposed on those disciplinary determinations. Both leagues have broad powers to act when conduct has occurred which they consider to be ‘detrimental to the game’, a term the author asserts is vague and which neither sport’s policy adequately clarifi es. This paper provides policy recommendations to address those limitations.