The sport and human rights remedy landscape and the role of (public) inquiries in enabling a ‘remedy ecosystem

Sport can both advance and harm human rights. Recent high-profile cases show that traditional sport dispute resolution systems have not been designed for substantive human rights claims involving discrimination, abuse, privacy, labour rights, and fair trial guarantees. Existing internal (sport body) and external (state and international) mechanisms are slowly adapting, but access to remedy for affected persons remains fragmented and often inaccessible. This article maps the current sport and human rights remedy landscape and discusses the gaps in relation to “effective remedy” under international human rights law and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. It also advocates for a “remedy ecosystem” approach that focuses on enabling remedy through mutually reinforcing processes and institutions. We then analyse a series of public and quasipublic inquiries into structural and spectacular harms in sport, examining how they are established, how they function, and what remedial value they offer. The article concludes by assessing how inquiries can fill gaps in the present remedy ecosystem and by outlining practical recommendations for designing inquiries that respect the right to remedy and centre affected persons.