Regulations issued by international sport federations and national law

Irrespectively of the competition itself, economy and finances have become more and more important in sport due to great investments involved in this sphere of economic and social life. As a consequence, worldwide and European sport organizations and federations have gained even greater importance. Bearing in mind scale, territorial scope, finances engaged and popularity of certain kinds of sport, the most important federations are FIFA, UEFA and the International Olympic Committee. One of the most interesting aspects of their activity and significance are regulations issued by them. These regulations govern sport competition (worldwide and domestic), national sport federations and clubs, as well as trainers, referees, competitors, etc. What is particularly interesting are the by-laws and statutes setting rules of competition and responsibility of entities involved in certain disciplines of sport. Having this in mind, the issue which raises particular doubts is the relation of the above mentioned regulations and statutes to laws made by the state as well as its binding force within state territory. It is significant that regulations and by-laws govern national sport federations, but the latter not only have been established but are governed by national law. There are several important questions concerning regulations of sport federations and their relations to national laws. What is the significance and binding force of the regulations in a particular state? Polish national sport federations being governed by the above mentioned regulations must also comply with state law. This in turn can result in many conflicts between these two kinds of regulations. Moreover, this fact implies that regulations issued by international sport federations to some extent have an influence on state law. The main goal of this article is to describe the relation between the two kinds of regulations mentioned aboved - regulations of sport federations and national laws - and aims to draw several conclusions and recommendations in respect to a potential conflict between them. FIFA and UEFA are the most important sport federations on the global and European levels. This is the reason why this article is based on regulations issued by these organizations. Nevertheless, conclusions are also applicable to other sport federations.