The Convention on Manipulation of Sports Competition: a First Comment

The long way of COE legislative policies countering sports fraud can be considered finished on July 9th 2014 with the adoption of the Convention on Manipulation of Sports Competitions . This is a long way that has been developed more intensively in the last twenty years: a way, originated from the acknowledgement of the educational role of sport, that “plays a fundamental role in the realisation of the aim of the Council of Europe by reinforcing the bonds between peoples and developing awareness of a European cultural identity” . A way along which it has been strengthened the awareness that it was necessary to keep unchanged the values of sport, so that it could fulfil its educational function: from here several political and legislative actions, aimed at preserving the integrity of sport. A way that followed a consolidate process, which has seen, therefore, previously the adoption of a Recommendation on the matter, finally followed by a Convention, that is the first international legal text, having vis cogens for those states that will sign it. In this contribution I want to examine the text of the Convention, highlighting its strong points as well as its weak points, especially in the perspective of its enforcement in the legal systems of those states that will sign it.