Sports law and the European union

For the last thirty years the athletic community as well as academics are dealing with an effort by the European Court of Justice to influence sport law and the rule-making power of member states in the area of sports. In the present paper the reader will find a summary of all the major cases brought before the Court as well as an analysis of their effect. Apart from that, the reader will be able to understand the fact that the Court does not accept the rule of precedent in its decisions as well as the fact that it is rather policy than Treaty provisions that controls it. It remains to see how sports authorities can use these facts to their benefit, if they want to hope for a change of the Courts’ case law in the future.