抄録
One of the important elements for stable promotion of sports activities is risk management for accidents, which are inherent to all sports activities. In this connection, there is a current trend for civil liability for accidents sustained during sport activities being undertaken by not only sports organizations, but also public institutions such as governments.
In this study, we analyzed French precedents of disputed civil liability by sports organizations following accidents during sports activities, which have highlighted sports legislation in France. Our findings indicated that sports organizations in France which are responsible for organizing, directing and controlling the activities of their members, should be liable to civil action in cases when accidents have been caused by one or more members through committing a fault by a breach of the games' rules, even if the individuals concerned are unidentified. Our study has also shown that the code of sport, which is the fundamental sports laws in France, has articles that obligate sports organizations to pay for civil liability insurance policies. Furthermore, we observed a similarity between recent trends in France and Japan, where more attention is being drawn to devising more concrete preventive measures against sport accidents.
These findings suggest that in the context of sports organizations managing the risks of sport accidents, it is necessary to utilize insurance systems to the maximum in order to collateralize obligation to pay reparations. Sports organizations need to prevent accidents, which arise through rule violations, by enforcing strict adherence to games' rules by participants. Moreover, considering that sports activities perform a public function, building a social relief system that would protect the victims of sports accidents will be an important element for promotion of sport in the future.
