[Boris]

I have just seen this

Olympic Athletes Face Expulsion For Displaying Tibetan Flags In Room |Sky News|World News

Am I right in thinking the Olympic Village is an International Site not under the host nations jurisdiction but that of the I.O.C? I remember something about this in reference to previous Olympics and especially when the PLO kicked off in Munich.

If right then its no go for the PRC to demand this.

Please increase my understanding of this article in relation to the village. They will of course be during security searches of anything going in or out so its reasonable to expect they would enforce it then - or do they expect to get reports from the cleaners and then do raids?

[Boris]

Bump Bump Bump

[PDLM]

I can't see how somehow claiming that the local laws don't apply in an "Olympic Village" would work. Which set of laws do you think should apply? The IOC certainly doesn't have a full legal code. This isn't like Embassies where it is clear that the law applicable within the Embassy is (in most circumstances) that of the Embassy's country.

Are you suggesting, for example, that at the village for the equestrian events held in Hong Kong it would be OK to burn the Hong Kong flag (something which would be illegal under the HK Law)?

It seems to me that when present as a guest in a country it is incumbent on you to abide by that country's laws. If those laws are unacceptable to you then don't go (or hold your games) there.

[Boris]

No disrespect, but, just saying why, why, why, instead of because , its laid down here. etc etc would have been a more valuable use of your time I feel.

Something reminds me that as the I.O.C is a registered legal entity - this is the seen in the fact that if you wear a Pepsi T-Sirt they can throw you out if Coca Cola are the official sponsor - I remember something about the Village being under the jurisdiction of the I.O.C for the period of the games with the hosting N.O.C. providing all the legal, law and support services under the auspices of the I.O.C.

If no one can be definitive then I am just going to have to dig some more. Maybe you have a definitive answer PDLM ?

[Boris]

Further to the above, the following from the BOCOG site.

15. Security Department

Responsible for security affairs and maintenance of public order during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the Paralympics of 2008.

Now - the BOCOG works under the auspices of the I.O.C.
In effect, as I understand it, the Olympics is a traveling country that effectively is allowed to reside in a particular nation every 4 yrs. Hence the wording above. Am I correct ?

[PDLM]

This is a completely different thing. You're talking about the ability to sign exclusive sponsorship deals and then have clauses in the contractual terms for ticket purchase which forbid the display of certain (or any) other commercial slogans etc by ticket purchasers.

This is no different from the situation at, say, the HK Sevens where the HKRFU signs exclusive F&B agreements with the people providing the F&B in the ground and then imposes a contract term which says that no bottle or cans may be brought into the grounds in order to attempt to protect that exclusivity.

These are pure commercial contract arrangements - they are absolutely nothing to do with underlying laws.

Originally Posted by Boris

Further to the above, the following from the BOCOG site.

15. Security Department

Responsible for security affairs and maintenance of public order during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the Paralympics of 2008.

Now - the BOCOG works under the auspices of the I.O.C.
In effect, as I understand it, the Olympics is a traveling country that effectively is allowed to reside in a particular nation every 4 yrs. Hence the wording above. Am I correct ?

No, absolutely wrong. The IOC is no different at the Olympics than the HKRFU is at the Sevens. The Sevens also has a security team employed by the HKRFU which is responsible for security affairs and the maintenance of public order there.

[Lammarite]

More to the point- who gives a flying f*ck what the athletes put up on their walls?
Most of them are so stuffed to the tits on steroids and banned drugs they'd probably put the flag upside down anyway.

[Boris]

Ok then.
So in response to whats been said it looks like the Olympics is going to be MORE political then ever before. A shame as it just shows up China in a worst light and not a better one as they had hoped.

A golden opportunity wasted.

[Lammarite]

Originally Posted by Boris

Ok then.
So in response to whats been said it looks like the Olympics is going to be MORE political then ever before. A shame as it just shows up China in a worst light and not a better one as they had hoped.

A golden opportunity wasted.

Yes on all counts.