Legal issues

People practicing mountaineering and climbing may come across many legal issues. If your country does not have laws giving you access to mountains you cannot go hiking or climbing. Without laws protecting nature, for example by establishing national parks, the free nature we enjoy will be destroyed by pollution, industrialisation or commercial tourism developments.  

 

There are also national laws and international agreements regulating our competition sports, most importantly Anti-doping laws. As members of the Olympic movement, the UIAA is committed to have good education policies in this area.

 

An important legal issue we might face in case of serious accidents is liability. It is very important for our members to be aware of the laws regarding the liability of federations, instructors and climbers. 

 

The UIAA has a Legal Experts Working Group which discusses these issues and function as a forum where our member federations can exchange experiences.