The Implications of the Recent Jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union for the Protection of the Fundamental Rights of Athletes and the Regulatory Autonomy of Sporting Federations

Tilburg Law Review 2020, t. 25, nr 1, s. 55-66.

Fundamental rights of the EU are in principle applicable in relations of vertical nature, in which individuals are confronted with the state. However, in relations of horizontal nature, in which both parties are individuals and on equal terms, applicability of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU has been long disputed among scholars. Only recently, in rulings Egenberger and Bauer, the Court of Justice of the European Union has directly addressed this issue. This paper elaborates on the consequences of the Court’s decision for the European sports model, presents reasons for justification of horizontal applicability of fundamental rights of the EU towards sports and proposes a method of applying the framework developed by the Court to conducting sports activity in the EU. Main argument of the Author is that the rules regulating sporting activity, if this activity falls within the scope of the law of the EU, may be subject to assessment of conformity with fundamental rights of the EU thanks to direct horizontal applicability of the Charter, which explicitly results from the recent Court’s rulings.