The Commentary of the Macolin Convention is available here below (in Open Access).

_________________________________

Project Summary

The Macolin Convention

The Council of Europe's Convention Against the Manipulation of Sport Competitions entered into force on September 1st, 2019 (having been concluded in Macolin/Megglingen, Switzerland - hence the 'Macolin Convention'). It represents an unprecedented legal instrument destined to effectively fight against competition manipulation worldwide.

The Convention raises many interesting legal questions, notably linked to its very diverse stakeholders (governmental authorities but also private bodies such as sport organizations and betting operators, which were directly involved in the drafting of the Convention and are directly targeted by the obligations provided therein) and to its substantive and procedural criminal law provisions, especially in the light of their conformity with human rights standards and with the fundamental principles of law. Moreover, the Convention innovates by providing technical provisions for regulating irregular betting and for exchange of information between all relevant stakeholders (both public and private entities), notably through the creation of national platforms that act as online “information hubs”.

Additionally, it has the particularity of directly involving private bodies alongside governmental agencies, as it was drafted under the impulse of sport organizations and provides direct obligations for these entities and for betting operators. Importantly, the Convention has a global scope, as it is also open for signatures for non-European countries (Australia, for example, is a signatory).

In view of its rapid implementation in numerous countries, it is estimated that this instrument will rapidly become the primary and indispensable instrument to enable a globally coordinated and efficient fight against match-fixing. In this context, research on this topic is only incipient. While several authors have dealt with specific aspects of match-fixing, only a few have so far tackled the issue of competition manipulation through a global lens and following an interdisciplinary approach. Only a handful of contributions have so far undertaken the dual analysis (criminal law / sports law) which is in our view indispensable to successfully research and analyze this wide topic.

In particular, sport bodies such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and international organizations such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and certain specific research efforts have started to scrutinize the provisions of the Macolin Convention, even before its entry into force, in order to launch a trend towards a coherent and uniform implementation of certain core concepts. However, none of these important efforts was directed towards a complete and critical analysis of the entire Convention, including a detailed scrutiny of its provisions on prevention, education, reporting, punishment and international cooperation. There has not been, to date, a complete, comprehensive and interdisciplinary commentary of the Macolin Convention and of its Explanatory Report, as the new key instrument created to tackle match-fixing worldwide.

Our Project's Goal and Objectives

The goal of this project, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF), is to publish the first systematic analytical Commentary of the Macolin Convention, including of its Explanatory Report. 

A systematic and wide-ranging analysis of pertinent legislation, doctrine and caselaw shall be conducted in light of which the Macolin Convention and its Explanatory Report will be analyzed. This approach aims to offer a uniform and complete basis for the interpretation of the Macolin Convention, in view of its implementation in different jurisdictions worldwide.

The final aim of the project is to publish a complete commentary of the Macolin Convention and its Explanatory Report, article by article, in English language. This commentary and this website's resource database on federations and country specific regulations is designed to help lawyers worldwide to deal as uniformly as possible with the issue of manipulation of sport competitions, particularly while enacting legislation or judging cases involving the respect of athletes’ substantial and procedural rights.

The project team hopes this work will contribute to identifying the most relevant legal issues concerning the fight against match-fixing, stimulate the necessary debate among legal scholars and maybe influence future evolutions of the Macolin Convention and relevant case law. Accordingly, certain aspects of the work have already been published in academic journals, presented at academic conferences and discussed with sports bodies prior to inclusion within the commentary.

Relevance of Our Research 

The Macolin Convention has the specificity that it involves not only governments and governmental agencies, but also key private organizations, such as international sport organizations, which are called to implement (and supplement) its provisions. Or, the vast majority of sports governing bodies (International Federations, International Olympic Committee, etc.) have their headquarters in Switzerland. Even though these institutions act mainly on an international scale, their legal relationships with third parties remain under the imperium of Swiss law.

It follows that rules created and implemented by such organizations, including in the field of competition manipulation (disciplinary codes, ethics codes, educational programs, reporting mechanisms, etc.), must be interpreted and applied in conformity with Swiss law. In addition, Switzerland is home of the only instance regulating world sport, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, whose procedural Code is also ruled by Swiss law.

The central importance of Switzerland in this process is also underlined by the fact that, symbolically, the Convention was signed in the “capital” of Swiss sport, Macolin/Magglingen. With the presence of this very significant number of sports institutions in Switzerland and the importance of Swiss law in international sports law, Swiss Universities must continue to exercise a leadership role.

Due to the proximity with these worldwide influencing governing bodies and the unparalleled knowledge and experience in Swiss law (in the field of sports law, of gambling law, of criminal law and of criminology), the project team at the University of Neuchatel have a particular experience in relevant practice and research which they can share with the world on these important topics.

Project Particulars

Having commenced in 2020, the project was concluded in 2023. The Commentary (available here below) was published in 2024.