European Union, United States of America & India
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KEEPING THE COMPETITIVE SPIRIT ALIVE: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF COMPETITION LAW IN PROFESSIONAL SPORT IN EUROPEAN UNION, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA & INDIA Dissertation submitted in part fulfillment for the requirement of the Degree of LL.M. Submitted by: Submitted to: ADITI SINGH Prof. ANIL KUMAR RAI 27 LLM16 NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, DELHI NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY DELHI (INDIA) 2017 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT No research project is possible without cooperation and collaboration. This dissertation could not have been completed without the great support that I have received from so many people. I wish to offer my most heartfelt thanks to the following people. I would like to thank my Supervisor, Prof. Anil Kumar Rai, National Law University, Delhi for allowing me to find my way through this exercise, for giving valuable input time to time. I am highly indebted to him for providing constant support and supervision despite his busy schedule. His untiring support and swift responses has been great source of inspiration in completion of work. I would further like to acknowledge the help extended to me by Library staff of National Law University, Delhi in assisting me in my research work. Finally, I must express my very profound gratitude to my parents for providing me with unfailing support and continuous encouragement throughout my years of study and throughout the process of researching and writing this dissertation. This accomplishment would not have been possible without them. ADITI SINGH 27 LLM16 LIST OF CASES 1. American Needle, Inc. v. New Orleans La. Saints, 496 F. Supp. 2d 941, 943 (2007) 2. American Needle, Inc. V. National Football League ET AL 560 U.S. 183 (2010) 3. BCCI vs CCI Appeal No.17 of 2013 With I.A. No.26 of 2013 4. Belaire Owners’ Association vs. DLF Limited Case No. 19/2010 5. Chicago Board of Trade v. United State246 U.S. 231, 38 S. Ct. 242, 244, 62 L. Ed. 683 6. Chicago Prof ‘l Sports Ltd. Partnership v. NBA (Bulls III), 808 F. Supp. 646, 650 (N.D. Ill. 1992) 7. Christelle Deliège v. Ligue ECR 2000 I-2549 8. Copperweld Corp. v. In-dependence Tube Corp 467 U.S. 752 (1984) 9. David Meca-Medina & Igor Majcen vs Commission C-519/04P, (2006) ECR I- 6991 10. Dhanraj Pilly & Others Vs M/S Hockey India 2013CompLR543(CCI) 11. Distribution of package tours during the 1990 World Cup OJ [1992] L 326/31, [1994] 5 CMLR 253 12. Donà vs. Mantero CASE 13/76, (1976) ECR 1333 13. Federal Baseball Club Of Baltimore Vs. National League 259 U.S. 200 (1922) 14. Flood vs. Kuhn 407 U.S. 258 (1972) 15. Hemant Sharma & Ors. vs Union of India W.P.(C) 5770/2011 16. Höfner and Elser v Macrotron GmbH Case C- 41/90, [1991] ECR I- 1979 17. In re: Department of Sports & Athletics Federation of India Ref. Case No. 01 of 2015 18. Italy v Sacchi [1974] ECR 409 19. Joint selling of the commercial rights of the UEFA Champions League COMP/C.2-37.398 (2003/778/EC) 20. Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze v Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze SpA, Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di San Miniato and Cassa di Risparmio di San Miniato SpA, C-222/04 [2006] ECR I-289 21. Motosykletistiki Omospondia Ellados NPID (MOTOE) v. Elliniko Dimosio Case C-49/07, [2008]ECR I-4863 22. Pavel Pavlov and Others v Stichting Pensioenfonds Medische Specialisten Cases C- 180/98, [2000] ECR I- 6451 23. Piau vs Commission Case T-193/02, (2006) ECR I-37 24. Scottish Football v Commission Case T-46/92, [1994] ECR II-1039 25. SELEX Sistemi Integrati SpA v Commission Case T- 155/04 [2006] ECR II- 4797, [2007] 4 CMLR 372 26. Surinder Singh Barmi Vs Board Of Cricket Control In India [2013]113CLA579(CCI) 27. Toolson vs New York Yankees 346 U.S. 356 (1953) 28. United States v. International Boxing Club, 348 U. S. 236 (1955) 29. United States vs Sealy Inc. 388 U.S. 350, 352-356 30. United States vs. National Football League, et al 196 F. Supp. 445 (1961) 31. United States vs. National Football League116 F. Supp. 319 (E.D. Pa. 1953) 32. Van Landewyck v Commission [1980] ECR 3125 33. Walrave vs Union Cycliste Internationale Case 36/74, [1974] ECR 1417 34. Wouters v Algemene Raad van de Nederlandsche Orde van Advocaten Case C- 309/99 [2002] ECR I- 1577, [2002] 4 CMLR 9 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................3 1.1 EVOLUTION OF SPORT ............................................................................................. 3 1.2 SPORT AS AN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY ................................................................... 5 1.3 LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................................. 9 1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ......................................................................................... 11 1.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................................................ 11 1.6 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS ....................................................................................... 11 EUROPEAN UNION .................................................................................................... 12 2.1 CONCEPT OF UNDERTAKING............................................................................... 12 2.2 SPECIFICITY OF SPORT: THE SPORTING EXCEPTION .................................. 18 2.2.1 HELSINKI REPORT ................................................................................................... 19 2.2.2 DAVID MECA-MEDINA & IGOR MAJCEN VS COMMISSION ....................... 24 2.3 THE WHITE PAPER ON SPORT.............................................................................. 28 2.4 ECONOMIC FUNCTIONS: MEDIA RIGHT ........................................................... 33 2.4.1 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE CASE ..................................................................... 35 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ....................................................................................... 44 3.1 SPORTS BROADCASTING ACT OF 1961 ............................................................. 44 3.2 SINGLE ECONOMIC ENTITY ................................................................................. 48 3.3 EXEMPTION TO BASEBALL .................................................................................. 52 3.3.1 FEDERAL BASEBALL CLUB OF BALTIMORE VS. NATIONAL LEAGUE .. 52 3.3.2 TOOLSON VS. NEW YORK YANKEES................................................................. 53 3.3.3 FLOOD VS. KUHN ..................................................................................................... 54 1 | P a g e INDIA ........................................................................................................................... 57 4.1 SURINDER SINGH BARMI VS BOARD OF CRICKET CONTROL IN INDIA 59 4.2 DHANRAJ PILLY & OTHERS VS M/S HOCKEY INDIA .................................... 65 4.3 OTHER CASES ........................................................................................................... 71 4.4 LEGAL TRANSPLANT ............................................................................................. 72 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................. 74 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................... 78 2 | P a g e INTRODUCTION Sport is not a modern phenomenon. It did not come into existence within a day but gradually evolved over the centuries. Here, it is important that sport be differentiated from ‘play’. Play is ‘an activity where entry and exit are free and voluntary, rules are emergent and temporary, fantasy is permitted, utility of action is irrelevant, and the result is uncertain’.1 Sport, on the other hand, is much more than play. It is more institutionalized in its structure and practice. It is an institution or social behavior based on competitiveness, skill and strategy.2 1.1 EVOLUTION OF SPORT Anthropologists believe that originally, the main purpose of sport for humans was enjoyment and it was essentially a leisure activity to derive pleasure from participation. One cannot trace the exact timeline of origin and evolution of sport. There are references to wrestling as a sport in Bible. Many ancient civilizations have left evidence to indicate that there sport was part of their social living. The first evidence of sport was found on the walls of the pyramids in Egypt depicting wrestling.The Minoan Civilization had a rich sporting culture of bull-fighting and gymnastics post 1550 BC and it was depicted in various artifacts found by the archeologists. Romans enjoyed a variety of sport in Colosseum, ranging from horse racing to gladiator combats. However, the first recorded sporting event was ancient Olympic Games held in 760 BC to celebrate the Greek God, Zeus. India has been witnessing sports like chess, wrestling, boxing and archery since Vedic period. Each sport evolved with the passage of time. For example, football is said to have originated in China around 5000-300 BC as a ball-game, called Tsu Chu. With the advent of time and increased trade amongst civilizations, there was exchange of sporting rituals and formats. It has travelled all across the globe from Mexico to Japan, over centuries to finally attain its present status. Many sports like golf 1 J. Frey & D.S. Eitzen, Sport and Society, Vol. 17 ARS, 503, 508 (1991) 2 G. Luschen, Sociology of Sport: Development, Present State, and Prospects, Vol. 6 , ARS, 315, 315- 316(1980) 3 | P a g e and cricket are said to have originated in Great Britain and