Germany by Klaus Vieweg Professor (Chair of Civil Law, Business and Technology Law)
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Germany by Klaus Vieweg Professor (Chair of Civil Law, Business and Technology Law) & Andreas Krause Attorney at law (Rechtsanwalt) This monograph is up-to-date as of July 2012 2013 Sports Law – Suppl. 30 (2013) Germany – 1 Published by: Kluwer Law International PO Box 316 2400 AH Alphen aan den Rijn The Netherlands E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.kluwerlaw.com Sold and distributed in North, Central and South America by: Aspen Publishers, Inc. 7201 McKinney Circle Frederick, MD 21704 United States of America Email: [email protected] Sold and distributed in all other countries by: Turpin Distribution Services Ltd. Stratton Business Park Pegasus Drive, Biggleswade Bedfordshire SG18 8TQ United Kingdom Email: [email protected] The monograph Germany is an integral part of Sports Law in the International Encyclopaedia of Laws series. Printed on acid-free paper. ISBN 978-90-411-1754-0 Sports Law was first published in 2004. Vieweg, Klaus; Krause, Andreas. ‘Germany’. In International Encyclopaedia of Laws: Sports Law, edited by Frank, Hendrickx. Alphen aan den Rijn, NL: Kluwer Law International, 2013. This title is available on www.kluwerlawonline.com © 2013, Kluwer Law International BV, The Netherlands All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. Permission to use this content must be obtained from the copyright owner. Please apply to: Permissions Department, Wolters Kluwer Legal, 76 Ninth Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10011-5201, USA. Email: [email protected] 2 – Germany Sports Law – Suppl. 30 (2013) The Authors Klaus Vieweg (Dr jur.) Professor (Chair of Civil Law, Business and Technology Law) Professional Qualifications Law and Sports studies at the Universities of Bielefeld and Muenster, doctoral dis- sertation and post-doctoral professorship qualification in the areas of civil law, com- mercial and company law, national and international business law, civil procedural law in Muenster, Director of the Institute of Law and Technology at the Friedrich- Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg (Institut für Recht und Technik – IRuT) and of the connected National and International Sports Law Research Unit. Vice President of the German Sports Law Association (Deutsche Vereinigung für Sportrecht), Honorary Vice President of the International Association of Sports Law (IASL), Member of the German Court of Arbitration for Sports, Member of the Acatech (German Academy of Sciences of Technology). Main areas of research National, European and international facets of Law of Associations and Federa- tions, Sports Law, Tort Law, Property Law, Law of Technology and Business. Publications A list of selected publications, as well as a link to the publication, ‘The Appeals of Sports Law’, can be found on the IRuT homepage (www.irut.de). Sports Law – Suppl. 30 (2013) Germany – 3 The Authors Other Professional Qualifications Class A instructor license in gymnastics (male). Andreas Krause Attorney at law (Rechtsanwalt) Professional Qualifications Law studies at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg. 2002–2007 Member of the staff of IRuT and the connected National and Inter- national Sports Law Research Unit. 2005–2007 Member of the staff of the Institute of Business law and Labour law (Chair of Civil law and Labour law) of the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg. Since 2008, Andreas Krause has practiced as a lawyer in Nuremberg in the fields of civil law and labour law with a particular focus on cases relating to Italy. Publications Die rechtliche Bewältigung von Sportmanipulationen in Italien (The legal tackling of manipulations in sports in Italy), in: Klaus Vieweg (ed.), Prisma des Sportrechts, 2006, 123 et seq. 4 – Germany Sports Law – Suppl. 30 (2013) Table of Contents The Authors 3 List of Abbreviations 13 Acknowledgements 21 General Introduction 23 Chapter 1. General Background: Sport and Sports Law 23 Chapter 2. Development of Sports Law 26 Chapter 3. Sources of Sports Law 28 Part I. Organization of Sport 31 Chapter 1. General Issues 31 Chapter 2. Public Regulation 33 §1. CONSTITUTIONAL GUARANTIES AND WARRANTIES,PARTICULARLY FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION 33 I. Constitutional Guarantees for Sports Associations and Federations: Freedom of Association, Article 9(1) GG 33 II. Constitutional Guarantees for Individual Participants Involved in Sporting Activities, in Particular, Athletes 34 A. General Freedom of Action, Article 2(1) GG 34 B. Protection of Bodily Integrity, Article 2(2) Sentence 1 GG 35 C. Professional Freedom, Article 12(1) GG 35 D. Property, Article 14 GG 36 §2. GOVERNMENTAL CONDITIONS AND PERMITS 36 I. Law of Associations, §§ 21 et seq. BGB 37 Sports Law – Suppl. 30 (2013) Germany – 5 Table of Contents II. The Support and Promotion of Sport 37 A. Promotion of Sport as a Public Task 38 B. Allocation of Authority and Appraisal of the Situation 38 1. Promotion of Sport by the Federal Authorities 38 2. Sports Sponsorship by the States 40 3. The Promotion of Sports by Local Authorities 41 §3. PUBLIC SAFETY 41 I. Public Order Measures 42 A. Major Sporting Events and Responsibility of Interference 42 B. Children’s High-Performance Sports 44 II. Public-Law Provisions Relating to Construction and Use 44 §4. TAX (BY DR ALEX STEINER)46 I. Introduction 46 II. Taxation of Sports Associations 47 A. Non-profit Organizations: Exemptions from Taxation (Gemeinnützigkeit) 47 B. Professional Sports Division in, or in Addition to, an Association 48 C. Consequences of Being Arranged as a Non-profit Organization (Gemeinnützigkeit) 49 D. Bookkeeping and Profit Assessment 49 III. Sports and Income Tax 50 A. The Association as Employer 51 1. The Term ‘Employee’ 51 2. Payment and Expense Allowance 51 3. Benefits-in-Kind 52 4. Procedural Questions 52 B. Athletes as Operators of Businesses 53 C. Special Facts Relating to Honorary Offices 53 D. Business Partnerships (Personengesellschaften) in Sports 54 E. Hobby (Liebhaberei) 54 IV. Commercial Tax 55 V. The Obligation to Keep Records and Documentation 55 VI. Regulations for Sponsors 56 A. Sponsoring Order 56 1. Definition of Sponsoring 56 2. Treatment as Regards the Sponsor 57 3. Treatment as Regards the Recipient 57 B. Assumption of Taxation by Business Associates 58 C. VIP-Lounges 58 VII. Other Specific Regulations 58 A. Accounting for Player Permits in Commercial and Professional Sports 58 B. Naming and Television Rights 59 6 – Germany Sports Law – Suppl. 30 (2013) Table of Contents C. Player Lending 59 D. International Sports 60 VIII. Value-Added Tax 60 §5. DISPUTE SETTLEMENT 60 Chapter 3. Private Regulation 63 §1. SPORT ORGANIZATIONS IN GERMANY:STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS 63 I. Pyramid Formation 63 II. ‘Ein-Platz-Prinzip’ 64 III. Tasks of the Various Sporting Associations 65 §2. LEGAL FORMS OF SPORTS ASSOCIATIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS 65 I. The Registered Association (Eingetragener Verein) 66 II. Alternative Legal Forms 69 §3. STATUES AND SETS OF RULES 70 §4. RELATIONSHIP TO STATE LAW, IN PARTICULAR THE ABILITY OF STATE COURTS TO REVIEW DECISIONS OF FEDERATIONS 73 §5. LEGAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ASSOCIATION AND ITS MEMBERS 76 I. Types of Membership and Binding Nature of Regulations Enacted by Federations 77 II. Membership Rights and Duties in Concrete Terms 80 A. Membership Rights 80 B. The Duties of the Members 81 III. The Right of Admission 81 IV. Licensing Procedure 83 V. Nomination 84 §6. SANCTIONS IMPOSED BY ASSOCIATIONS AND FEDERATIONS 85 §7. LEGAL PROTECTION AGAINST DECISIONS REACHED INTERNALLY BY ASSOCIATIONS AND FEDERATIONS 88 §8. LIABILITY ISSUES 91 I. The Basics of Liability 91 II. Typical Cases 92 A. Liability of Associations and Association Boards 92 B. Liability of Organizers 93 C. Liability of Federations 94 Sports Law – Suppl. 30 (2013) Germany – 7 Table of Contents D. Liability of Athletes 94 E. Liability of Spectators 96 §9. REGULATIONS INTENDED TO GUARANTEE (PUBLIC)SAFETY, PARTICULARLY IN RELATION TO HOOLIGANS 96 Part II. Sport and Employment 99 Chapter 1. General Issues 99 Chapter 2. Public Regulation 101 §1. CLASSIFICATION OF THE LEGAL CHARACTER OF SPORTS PERFORMANCE CONTRACTS 101 I. Application of German Employment Law in the Area of Sports 101 A. The Term ‘Employee’ 101 B. Qualification of Athletes 102 1. Sport as Work 102 2. Private Law Contract 103 3. Personal Dependency 104 4. Summary 106 C. Classification of Coaches 106 D. Classification of Referees 107 E. Persons Similar to Employees 107 F. Persons Employed for Vocational Training 108 II. Establishment of Freelance Contracts and Employment Relationships 108 A. Conclusion of a Private Law Contract 108 B. Information Rights of the Employer 109 C. Prohibition of Discrimination 110 III. Termination of the Contractual Relationship 112 A. Regular Notice of Termination 113 B. Termination for Cause 113 1. Grounds for Termination 114 2. Form and Period of Notice 115 3. Several Grounds for Termination 115 4. Period for Filing an Action in Employment Relationships 120 C. General Termination Protection under the KSchG 121 1. Scope of Application 121 2. Requirement of a Social Justification 121 3. Period for Filing an Action in Employment Relationships 123 D. General Protection against Dismissal outside the KSchG 123 E. Dismissal Pending Change of Contract 123 8 – Germany Sports Law – Suppl. 30 (2013) Table of Contents F. Special Termination Protection 124 G. Stipulation of a Time Limit 125 1. Requirements of Permissible Stipulations of a Time Limit 125 2. Time-Limited Contracts with Athletes 127 3. Coaches 130 H. Legitimacy of a Long-Term Contractual Obligation of the Athlete by the Club 131 I. Bankruptcy 133 J. Transfer 134 K. Business Transfer 139 §2. FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS PERTAINING TO THE SPORTS PERFORMANCE RELATIONSHIP 140 I. A General Overview of the Structure of the Working Relationship Obligations 141 II. The Review of Standardized Contracts 142 III. Sports Performance Contracts for Athletes 143 A.