Tim Fuller, former NRL player, now sports lawyer and sports law lecturer at the University of Queensland, will be the third speaker at RoLIA’s conference on Sports, Drugs and the Rule of Law on Friday 15 November. Tim will discuss the role of the rule of law in the practical context, looking at sporting tribunals and how sporting contracts are used to penalise and sanction athletes. In particular, he will examine the ‘disrepute ‘clause in sporting contracts and how this clause creates a degree of uncertainty and ambiguity due to the subjective nature of the clause.
Tim’s position is that the rule of law principles that are valued by society are undermined and diminished by the regulatory framework in which sport operates. Using case studies he will show how athletes are treated before the law how the and principles of the right to silence and presumption of innocence are watered down. He will also look at the problematic situation when an athlete is charged with behavioural misconduct within a sport while there are concurrent criminal charges.
