UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Alain Zahlan de Cayetti and Anna Sedova, De Cayetti Law
Article 10 (Sports Media) of the UAE Sports Law is also of note: “The authority, in coordination with the concerned media entities in the country, shall be responsible for registering the Sports Media Union, which shall be concerned with sponsoring sports media cadres, refining their capabilities and training them according to the best professional standards in alignment with a media code of honour, as determined by the statute of the Authority.”
(which will be replaced by a new Federal Decree-Law due to be promulgated in 2026). Sports events must also comply with safety legisla - tion (see Federal Law No 8 of 2014 on Sports Facili - ties and Events Security mentioned above). Certain mechanisms for limitations of liability are possible (for instance, tickets may mention limitation of liabilities in the event of certain losses). In general, events are insured by organisers cover - ing potential injuries to spectators and participants. Safety measures at sporting events also require co- ordination between the organisers and the security authorities, a strong video surveillance system, crowd management procedures and accreditation for spec - tators. Liability cannot be excluded in the event of gross neg - ligence, intentional misconduct, etc. Sporting bodies are either public or commercial. They include the Ministry of Sports, the National Olympic Committee (Article 17 of the UAE Sports Law) and National Paralympic Committee (Article 18 of the UAE Sports Law), the UAE Special Olympics and the UAE Committee for People with Hearing Disabilities (Arti - cle 19 of the UAE Sports Law). The following entities operate within the jurisdiction. • Sports federations (Article 21 of the UAE Sports Law) – comprise a board of directors and shall enter into a Sports Performance Agreement with the Ministry of Sports, defining the role and goals of the federation, and to which the NOC and the NPC shall be parties. Article 26 of the UAE Sports Law provides that “The Sports Federation may enter into partnerships with national or foreign sports or non-sports institutions inside or outside the State”. • Sports associations (Article 28 of the UAE Sports Law) – established by sports federations and enjoying a legal personality and independence. 4. Corporate Structures 4.1 Legal Forms of Sporting Bodies
3. Sports Events 3.1 Proprietary Rights and Event Management
In the UAE, there is no single property right as such for a sports event. As mentioned at 2.1 Sports-Related Rights , proprietary rights in a sports event include IP, contracts and event permissions (including limited accreditations, ticketing and venue access). In addi - tion to the UAE Sports Law and the Federal Law No 8 of 2014 on Sports Facilities and Events Security, sport events are also governed by Federal Decree-Law No 5 of 2023 on Consumer Protection, which applies to ticket sales, pricing transparency, misleading advertis - ing and refund policies. Sports events are organised by national sports federa - tions, professional leagues, clubs, event organisers, government authorities and sports councils. They can also be organised by private persons with the prior approval of the relevant sport regulatory body and government authorities. Participation in sport events is governed by the com - petition rules of the relevant federation (often comply - ing with the rules of international federations), anti- doping (WADA) rules, and disciplinary and integrity rules. In many cases, disputes are ultimately referred to sports arbitration bodies – in particular, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). 3.2 Duty of Care and Liability Under UAE law, sports event organisers generally owe a duty of care to spectators, participants and other persons attending the event. The UAE is a civil law jurisdiction. The principle of liability (contractual and tort) is governed by the law on civil transactions
320 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook