Welcome to edition 50 of The Sport Lawyer. Over the last year or so we have tried to address key legal issues and topics within the sports sector in a readable and, hopefully, thought provoking way. We have also tried to develop the publication, and are constantly looking at ways to improve it. As always, we welcome any feedback from readers!

The 50 editions of The Sport Lawyer have coincided with a number of developments for the firm's Sports Group, both in terms of client successes and market presence. As a firm, we are committed to providing high quality commercial and private client services to the sports sector. In fact, we are passionate about it.


Decision on doping sanction rule under review

A decision which is likely to have an impact on a number of athletes waiting to hear if they can compete in London 2012 is currently under review by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The decision relates to Rule 45 of the Olympic Charter, which bars athletes who have received a doping sanction of greater than six months from competing at the following Olympic Games.

Rule 45 has always been contentious since it first came into force in 2008. Many believe it operates in contravention of the World Anti Doping Agency Code (WADA) on the basis that athletes, who have already served their bans, are effectively being punished again: a kind of double whammy. However the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) position is that the regulation is not a sanction per se, but simply a condition of participation, which the governing body, it says, is entitled to put in place.

The validity of the rule will now be determined by CAS (on the request of the IOC and the United States Olympic Committee). A hearing has been set for 17 August 2011, and CAS has indicated it intends to hand down its verdict the following month.

Comment

Perhaps the most high profile athlete affected is American track star, LaShawn Merritt. Merritt was suspended for two years for three failed tests in early 2010, a sanction that was reduced to 21 months and backdated to October 2009. He is therefore eligible to compete as soon as this summer, but obviously he will not be eligible for London 2012 if Rule 45 is applied. The problem with this is that such an application would effectively extend his ban by a year.

It is therefore right that the IOC and the US Olympic Committee has submitted to CAS' jurisdiction to consider the lawfulness of the rule. However, there is a wider issue and that involves the British Olympic Association (the BOA), and its by-law 25 which states that any athlete found guilty of a doping offence shall be banned for life. Should CAS determine that Rule 45 cannot be applied, then the BOA by-law could be challenged, and the challenge could be considerably more robust than Dwain Chambers unsuccessful attempt to obtain an injunction against the BOA preventing him competing in Beijing in 2008.

It is clear that the decision, when it is handed down later this year, will be considered closely by a number of interested parties.

The contents of this article are intended as guidelines for clients and other readers. It is not a substitute for considered advice on specific issues. Consequently, we cannot accept any responsibility for this information or for any errors or omissions.

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