UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law: 2024 Memorial Beecroft Lecture: Arbitrating Sports, Politics & Human Rights: Who Decides

Description

Professor Maureen Arellano Weston Professor of Law and Director of the Entertainment, Media & Sports Dispute Resolution Project Pepperdine Caruso School of Law

Thursday, February 22, 2024 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM (Pacific Time) Thomas & Mack Moot Court Facility This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Join others after the lecture for a reception sponsored by the ADR Section of the State Bar of Nevada.

Description

Arbitration is the designated and largely exclusive mechanism to resolve sports-related disputes, particularly in Olympic and international sports. The Olympic Charter designates the Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) as the only dispute resolution institution for resolving sports-related international arguments between and among athletes, teams, and sport governing bodies from more than 200 countries, plus “individual neutral athletes” who compete without country affiliation.

The disputes before the CAS are not simply about who won or lost a game or match but instead have far-reaching implications related to politics, athlete abuse and safety, doping, corruption, and human rights.

Professor Weston’s lecture will examine private arbitration in the context of international sports. Among the questions she will consider are whether these private arbitration mechanisms should make decisions on matters with political and human rights implications, especially when these decisions involve consequences and protections of broader international human rights conventions. Professor Weston will discuss recent cases and issues in international sports arbitration leading up to the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.

Presenter

Maureen Weston is Professor of Law at Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law and Director of the Entertainment, Media & Sports Dispute Resolution Project. She received her JD from the University of Colorado, and BA in Economics/Political Science at the University of Denver. Professor Weston teaches courses on arbitration, mediation, negotiation, international dispute resolution, legal ethics, and U.S. and international sports law. She serves as Faculty Advisor to the Sports & Entertainment Law Society and Dispute Resolution Journal, and as coach for ICC Mediation Advocacy and Sports & Entertainment Law Negotiation competitions. Weston has taught law at the University of Oklahoma, University of Colorado, University of Las Vegas Nevada, Hamline, and in Oxford, England. Prior to teaching, Weston practiced law with Holme Roberts & Owen and Faegre & Benson in Colorado. She is actively involved in programs furthering opportunities for students to gain experience in negotiation, mediation and arbitration. Her committee service includes the ABA, Law School Division, Arbitration Competition, AALS Sports Law Executive Committee, and former chair of the ABA Dispute Resolution Education Committee and Representation in Mediation Competition. She is a member on the Boards of Directors at the University of Colorado School of Law Alumni Board, the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette School of Law, Malibu Little League, and Editorial Board of LawInSport. A frequent speaker at conferences, Weston is co-author of casebooks on sports law and arbitration and has written numerous articles in the area of Olympic and International Sports Arbitration, disability law, sports law, and dispute resolution.