How contract law sets the stage for the Olympic Games
In July 2024 we will see the 33rd iteration of the Summer Olympic Games with France as the host nation. The Olympics is the pinnacle for many athletes and is a place where dreams are made as large parts of the world stop to watch various sports that they may otherwise never lay eyes on throughout the Olympic and Paralympic periods.
Beneath the blood, sweat and tears, rather unromantically, sit a number of complex legal issues and necessities. There are several legal matters that are relevant in the context of Olympics ranging from intellectual property, security, human rights and doping, and beyond.
However, contract law, unsurprisingly serves one of the most important roles of connecting the host country with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). This contract is called the ‘Olympic Host Contract’. This microblog will explain the effect of the Host Contract, what it contains, and some recent developments.
How does the Olympic Host Contract work?
By signing the contract, the IOC enters into an agreement with the host’s National Olympic Committee (NOC), the host and the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (OCOG), which requires all parties to abide by the provisions of the Olympic Charter.
As an example, for the Paris Olympics in 2024, the document entitled, ‘Host City Contract: Principles’, contains provisions relating to the following;
· General responsibilities of the parties;
· Contribution of the IOC to the success of the games;
· The core requirements of the games;
· Coordination with the IOC;
· Key deliverables and operational areas;
· Paralympic games; and
· Miscellaneous clauses.
Under section I(2) of the Paris Host City Contract, it is made clear that ‘[t]he IOC … entrusts the Host City, the Host NOC and, in conformity with [section 3], the OCOG, with the planning, organising, financing and staging of the Games, in accordance with the terms of the HCC and the Olympic Charter.’[1]
The obligations are governed under Swiss law and the contract contains four central elements – contract principles, operational requirements, Games Delivery Plan, and pre-election commitments.[2]
In addition to these core features, there are other important issues that the Host City contract addresses. One such issue has recently become human rights.
The inclusion of human rights
The IOC has introduced UN Guiding Principles on human rights into the Paris host city contract for the first time, in an attempt to help break the cycle of human rights abuses that marred the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Sochi, and Beijing.[3]
Minky Worden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch, states that ‘[t]ime after time, Olympic hosts have gotten away with abusing workers building stadiums, and with crushing critics and media who try to report about abuses [and more human rights issues]. … The right to host the Olympics needs to come with the responsibility not to abuse basic human rights.’
Accordingly, the Paris 2024 host city contract includes, for the first time, the requirement to ‘protect and respect human rights and ensure any violation of human rights is remedied in a manner consistent with all internationally recognised human rights standards and principles.’[4]
The key revised provisions include:
· an obligation for the Host City, the Host NOC and the OCOG, in their organisation of the Games to:
o prohibit any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status (13.2(a));
o protect and respect human rights and ensure any violation of human rights is remedied in a manner consistent with international agreements, laws and regulations applicable in the Host Country and in a manner consistent with all internationally-recognised human rights standards and principles, including the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, applicable in the Host Country (13.2(b)); and
o refrain from any act involving fraud or corruption, in a manner consistent with any international agreements, laws and regulations applicable in the Host Country and all internationally-recognised anti-corruption standards applicable in the Host Country, including by establishing and maintaining effective reporting and compliance (13.2(b)).
· The Host City, the Host NOC and the OCOG is to undertake to carry out all activities foreseen under the Host City Contract[DS(1] in a manner which embraces sustainable development and contributes to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (15.1).
As such, the Host City Contract is a powerful tool in driving standards and ensuring that the host city understands what is required of it.
Are any issues on the horizon for the Brisbane Olympics in 2032?
There are economic issues that come alongside the Host City Contract. There is no get-out clause for an Olympic host, even under certain events that may fit under what is commonly known as a force majeure clause such as major cost blowouts or a deadly pandemic. The Host City Contract for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics permits the IOC to withdraw the games in certain circumstances, however, the organisers have no such power.[5]
The issue here is that there is significant inflexibility for host cities once they have committed to hosting the games and, although there is a ‘new norm’ of using existing infrastructure, the Olympics are cost-prohibitive and even ruinous. The Brisbane Games’ organising committee may find itself in a predicament, as an example, as they battle with financial restraints that deny them the power to expand the GABBA (the AFL oval) to the specifications required of an athletics stadium, and building a new stadium would prove to be a significant cost as well.
[1] https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/Documents/Host-City-Elections/XXXIII-Olympiad-2024/Host-City-Contract-2024-Principles.pdf
[2] https://www.mullinslawyers.com.au/resources/brisbane-2032-olympic-and-paralympic-games-legal-structure-and-organising-committee/
[3] https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/02/28/olympics-host-city-contract-requires-human-rights
[4] https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/Documents/Host-City-Elections/XXXIII-Olympiad-2024/Host-City-Contract-2024-Principles.pdf, section III(13.2)(b)
[5] https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/11/brisbane-olympics-2032-gabba-rebuild-scrapped