Law Menu
Ryan Gauthier
Associate Professor
BA (Carleton), JD (Harvard), PhD (Erasmus University Rotterdam)
Ryan received his JD from Harvard Law School in 2010. Afterwards, he worked as an associate with the labour and employment practice of Heenan Blaikie, LLP, a national Canadian law firm. He completed his PhD at Erasmus University Rotterdam in 2015, and joined TRU Law in 2016.
Ryan’s research examines issues related to sports law, particularly in the areas of human rights and integrity. Ryan’s PhD work examined violations of international human rights law by hosts of the Olympic Games, and the role of the International Olympic Committee in addressing those abuses. In recent years, Ryan has examined sports governance in Canada, risks to the respecting of human rights of eSport competitors, and governance issues related to the public financing of stadiums. Ryan also compares North American and European approaches to sports law.
Consistent with Ryan’s international approach, he has held visiting posts in the USA and Australia. Ryan is also a Former Visiting Academic at Bond University, has been a Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Oregon over multiple years, and is the Director of the Oregon Summer Sports Law Institute.
Ryan currently teaches Tort Law, Sports Law, and Sports & Human Rights. In prior years, he has taught Legislation, Administration & Policy, International Law, Employment Law, and Human Rights Law.
Ryan serves as the Chair of the TRU Law Moots Committee. He has coached teams in the Jessup International Law Moot, the Hockey Arbitration Competition of Canada, and the National Sports Law Negotiation competition.
Ryan is a member of the Sports Lawyers Association, and is on their international committee. Ryan is a member of the BC Law Society, and remains a non-practicing member of the New York Bar.
Publications
Books
- The International Olympic Committee, Law and Accountability (Oxford: Routledge, 2017)
Co-Authored Books
- Cap in Hand: How Salary Caps are Killing Pro Sports and Why the Free Market Could Save Them (Toronto: ECW Press, 2018) with Bruce Dowbiggin
Co-Edited Books
- Handbook on International Sports Law, 2nd ed (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2022) with James A.R. Nafziger
Authored Chapters in Edited Collections
- “When ‘Legally Good Enough’ is not Enough: Non-Disclosure Agreements and the Hockey Canada Governance Crisis” in A. Greenhow & J. Wolohan, eds, The Routledge Handbook on Sports Law and Governance (Routledge, 2025)
- “League and Team Restrictions on Player Movement” in James A.R. Nafziger and Ryan Gauthier, eds, Handbook on International Sports Law, 2nd ed (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2022)
- “Canada”, in Sandy Adam, ed, National Sports Governance Observer 2: Benchmarking Governance in National Sports Organisations (Arhus: PlaytheGame, 2021)
- “Quasi-States and Sport: Building a Case for Statehood” in Karen N. Scott, Kathleen Clausen, Charles-Emmanuel Côté & Atsuko Kanehara, eds, Changing Actors in International Law (Leiden: Brill, 2021) 48
- “Player Movement and Competition Law: A US/EU Comparison” in Mike McCann, ed, Oxford University Press Handbook of American Sports Law (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018) 449
Co-Authored Chapters in Edited Collections
- “Barriers to Access to Justice” in Adam M. Dodek & Jeffrey G. Hoskins, eds, Canadian Legal practice – A Guide for the 21st Century (Toronto: LexisNexis, 2009) (loose-leaf updated 2009, release 1), ch 22 with Nitya Iyer
Authored Articles in Academic Journals
- "Publicly-Subsidized Stadiums - Changing the Game Through Good Governance" (2023) Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Sports Law Journal 231
- “Statehood and the Olympic Games” (2020) 114 AJIL Unbound 380
- “Teaching Essentially: Emergencies, Flight Instruction, and the Law School Classroom” (2020) 25:4 Lex Electronica 65
- “Constructing Statehood through Sport: Football, Kosovo, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport” (2019) 56 Can YB Intl L 220
- “Olympic Game Host Selection and the Law: A Qualitative Analysis” (2016) 23 Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports LJ 1
- “Major Event Legislation: Lessons from London and Looking Forward” (2014) 14:1 Intl Sports LJ 58
- “International Sporting Event Bid Processes, and How they can be Improved” (2011) 11:1 Intl Sports LJ 3
- “In re Dewey Ranch Hockey”, Case Comment, (2010) 1 Harvard J Sports & Entertainment L 181
Co-Authored Articles in Academic Journals
- Ryan Gauthier & Gigi Alford, “Will Human Rights Ever be Olympic Values?: Evaluating the Responses to Human Rights Violations at the Olympic Games” (2019-2020) 35 Conn J Intl L 21
- Arnout Geeraert & Ryan Gauthier, “Out-of-Control Olympics: Why the IOC is Unable to Ensure an Environmentally Sustainable Olympic Games” (2018) 20 J Environmental Policy & Planning 16
Other Publications
- “Hockey Canada's problems show that the government needs to regulate sport in Canada” (12 October 2022), online: The Conversation
- “From the Chicago Blackhawks to Washington’s Football Team, There’s an Urgent Need for More Accountability in Pro Sports” (8 November 2021), online: The Conversation
- “Post-COVID Reforms to Financial Fair Play” (6 August 2021), online: Brussels Agenda
- “How to Protest China’s Human Rights Violations Without Boycotting the 2022 Olympics” (27 January 2021), online: The Conversation
- “Offside: The Secret Deals Involving Money for Sports Stadiums” (3 September 2018), online: The Conversation
- “A Good Governance Approach to Stadium Subsidies in North America” (5 December 2017), online: Asser International Sports Law Blog
- “Kosovo at the Court of arbitration for Sport – Constructing Statehood Through Sport?” (17 March 2017), online: Asser International Sports Law Blog
- “Fear and Loathing in Rio de Janeiro – Displacement and the Olympics” (21 August 2016), online: Asser International Sports Law Blog
- Paul Hover, Bake Dijk, Koen Breedveld, Frank van Eekeren, with contributions from Marjan Olfers, Wilm Keijsers, Jan Hein Boersma & Ryan Gauthier, “Integrity and Sport Events” (2016) Mulier Institute & Utrecht University, Position Paper
- “The International Olympic Committee’s Accountability for Human Rights – Learning from the World Bank” (18 August 2015), online: Opinio Juris
- “The New Olympic Host City Contract: Human Rights a la carte?” (17 November 2014), online: Asser International Sports Law Blog
Contact
Office:
OM 4749
Email:
rgauthier@tru.ca
Phone:
778-471-8459
Courses
- Tort Law (LAWF 3070)
- Sports and Human Rights (LAWF 3780)
- Sports Law: Pro Leagues (LAWF 3980)
