EU Sports Law, Policy & Diplomacy Jean Monnet Chair

The idea of this proposal is to challenge the “old” and “traditional” approach to teaching sports law and policy and to teach students from undergraduate to postgraduate level, focusing on the importance of sports diplomacy as a tool for developing EU priorities and values. There are no comparable chairs or departments in the EU member states that incorporate law, politics and diplomacy into their unique field of activity for the study and research of the EU dimension, priorities and values. The great value of the Chair also lies in its academic staff, which consists of high-level experts in their respective fields. With a modern and digital approach (online materials, conference papers published in an open access journal, and a handbook, all available on an open access platform) to environmental protection, the research results will also be accessible worldwide and contribute to the realisation of Jean Monnet’s priorities. With the involvement of members of the academic staff who are professors in required and elective courses, the activities of the Chair will receive even greater attention and a higher number of students will be assigned to the subject of the Chair as a result of the teaching hours set for its application.

The outcomes of the project primarily include the following phases of implementation:

Three JM summer schools on the topics of the Chair.

Reform of the existing course by expanding its content to include new important elements such as EU policy in sport and sports diplomacy,

Publication of a comprehensive handbook on EU sports law, policy documents and the importance of sports diplomacy, published in English and written by members of the academic staff of the Chair (in print and as an e-book),

Creation of an open-access website with teaching materials (both for classroom and JM summer schools), conference papers, and research papers,

Organisation of two international scientific conferences open to a broad audience, with papers published in an open-access journal of the beneficiary,

In the Jean Monnet Chair activities, the following members are involved:

Assoc. Prof. Vanja Smokvina (University of Rijeka, Faculty of Law, Croatia) ORCID – Chair holder

Prof. Richard Parrish (Edge Hill University, UK) ORCID

Prof. Carmen Perez Gonzalez (University Carlos III, Madrid, Spain) ORCID

Prof. Thierry Zintz (Université catholique de Louvain: Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium) ORCID

Dr. Borja Garcia Garcia (Loughborough University, UK) ORCID

Prof. Siniša Petrović (University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law, Croatia) ORCID

Prof. Stuart Murray (Bond University, UK) ORCID

Prof. dr. Jürgen Mittag (German Sports University, Germany)

Dr. J Simon Rofe (University of Leeds, UK) ORCID

Dr. Andrea Cattaneo (Edge Hill University, UK) ORCID

Dr. David McArdle (Stirling University Law School, Scotland, UK) ORCID

Prof. dr. Vesna Crnić Grotić (University of Rijeka, Faculty of Law, Croatia) ORCID

Prof. Ana Pošćić (University of Rijeka, Faculty of Law, Croatia) ORCID

Assoc. Prof. Adrijana Martinović (University of Rijeka, Faculty of Law, Croatia) ORCID

Assoc. Prof. Maša Marochini Zrinski (University of Rijeka, Faculty of Law, Croatia) ORCID

In the activities of the Jean Monnet Chair the following courses are involved:

• European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms

• EU Sports Law, Policy & Diplomacy

• Clinic for Arbitration and Virtual Trial

• European Law I

• Internal Market and Fundamental Economic Freedoms

1. Jean Monnet EU Sports Law, Policy & Diplomacy Rijeka Summer School 2022 (05/09/2022 – 07/10/2022)
   Program
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2. Jean Monnet EU Sports Law, Policy & Diplomacy Rijeka Summer School 2023 (04/09/2023 – 07/09/2023)
   Program
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3. Jean Monnet EU Sports Law, Policy & Diplomacy Rijeka Summer School 2024 (23/09/2024 – 26/09/2024)
   Program
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4. Jean Monnet EU Sports Law, Policy & Diplomacy Rijeka Summer School 2025 (04/07/2025 – 08/07/2025)
   Program
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EVENTS

As planned 2 international scientific conferences named Jean Monnet Conferences have been organised in 2023 & 2025.

1. Jean Monnet Conference 2023, online, 04/09/2023;
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2. Jean Monnet Conference 2025, Rijeka (Croatia) & online, 04/07/2025;

It should be highlighted that the Jean Monnet Chair have organised or co-organised other extremely important events (conferences, round tables etc.) on some of the most relevant topics which raised huge interest of the media and public.

Additional events organized or co-organised by the Jean Monnet Chair:

3. Conference – Round table “The European Model of Sport”, Rijeka (Croatia) & online, 02/12/2022;
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4. UK & Croatia Sports Law Students – Mini Jean Monnet Conference, online, 13/12/2022;
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5. Conference – “The AG’s Opinion in the Superleague and ISU cases”, online 19/12/2022;
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6. Conference – „The economic and legal aspects of organisation of football in Europe“, Luxembourg, 21/02/2023;
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7. Workshop: “Contemporary challenges of football”, Rijeka (Croatia) & online,13/04/2023;
8. Event – “Conference on historical, legal and diplomatic aspects of football”, Rijeka (Croatia), 08/09/2023;
9. PEER LEARNING ACTIVITY SPORT DIPLOMACY: “Challenges and Opportunities of Sport Diplomacy in the 21st Century”, Dubrovnik (Croatia), 23&24/10/2023;
10. Second UK & Croatia Sports Law Students – Mini Jean Monnet Conference, online, 11/12/2023;
11. Online Conference_Experts analyse Court (CJEU) judgements in the European Super League, ISU & Royal Antwerp cases_online_22_12_2023;
    recording
12. Conference on football and sports diplomacy – Croatia & Italy, Rijeka (Croatia), 11/06/2024;
13. Event on “Basketball and Sports Diplomacy”, Rijeka (Croatia), 02/10/2024;
14. Event about the Olympian Abdon Pamich – story on sports diplomacy, Rijeka (Croatia), 11/11/2024;
15. Third UK & Croatia Sports Law Students – Mini Jean Monnet Conference, online, 09/12/2024;

1. Smokvina, Vanja, Profesionalni sportaši i posebnosti njihova radnopravnog odnosa – u prilog raspravi o Zakonu o sportu (Professional Athletes and the Special Nature of Their Labour Relations in Support of the Debate on the Sports Act), Zbornik Pravnog fakulteta u Zagrebu, vol. 73 (2023) No. 2-3, pp. 291-313;

2. Smokvina, Vanja, Profesionalni sportaši i posebnosti njihova radnopravnog odnosa – u prilog raspravi o Zakonu o sportu (Professional Athletes and the Special Nature of Their Labour Relations in Support of the Debate on the Sports Act), pp. 162-184, in Liber Amicorum Željko Potočnjak (Grgurev, I., Gotovac, V., Vukorepa, I., Bjelinski Radić, I., eds.), Zagreb, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law, 2023.

3. Smokvina, Vanja, The Home-Grown Player Rules, in Sport & Competition Law, Concurrences, 2026. (forthcomings)

4. Garcia, Borja, Smokvina, Vanja (ed.), The European Model of Sport – Myth or Reality, London&NewYork: Routledge, 2025.