Seminar: Jurisprudence of Sport

Catalog description

Explores the ways in which games and sports can illuminate dynamics and problems that arise in law and vice-versa. Both law and sports are primarily rule-governed activities, and thus both present similar fundamental (and thus often highly theoretical) questions regarding the formulation, application, and enforcement of those rules. These questions include: the extent to which formal, written rules (as opposed to informal norms) are the exclusive source of authority; what the mechanisms for the enforcement and application of those rules or norms should be; how to respond to situations in which a decision maker has imperfect information; whether and how to provide a right of appeal; how to distinguish between “cheating” and the strategic use of rules; and how to craft appropriate sanctions for violations.