ABSTRACT
The operation of the Olympic legal framework is unique in the world of sport. This chapter begins by locating the emergence and importance of lex Olympica and Olympic law in the wider discussions of the meaning and scope of lex sportiva and sports law. The analysis then turns to the importance of the Olympic Charter and other key sources of lex Olympica to the governance of the Olympic Movement and Olympic athletes. From here, the ground-breaking ability of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), as a non-state actor, to create ‘Olympic law’ in Olympic host nations is examined. This will demonstrate how the IOC's internal legal norms, the lex Olympica, are forced into life as Olympic law that operates for the commercial benefit of the IOC itself and the local organising committees of each edition of the Olympic Games, but at the expense of the rights of the participating athletes. This exposes the inherent tension between the promotion of Olympic culture and the protection of Olympic commercial rights and reveals that the IOC chooses to use legal mechanisms to protect its income and its sponsors, but not the Fundamental Principles of Olympism and the athletes.
