Sports Anti-Doping Framework in Australia

Recognising Doping as an International Issue

The Olympic Charter and the International Convention against Doping in Sport 2005 was adopted in Paris on 19 October 2005 (called the “UNESCO Convention”).

It recognised the necessity for both the;

– prevention of, and;
– the fight against,

doping in sport as a critical part of the mission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and UNESCO.

It also recognised the fundamental role of having a World Anti-Doping Code.

World Anti-Doping Code

The purposes of the World Anti-Doping Code (Code) and the World Anti-Doping
Program underlying and supporting the code are:

• To protect the Athletes’ fundamental right to participate in doping free
sport and thus promote health, fairness and equality for Athletes
worldwide, and

• To ensure harmonised, coordinated and effective anti-doping
programs at the international and national level with regard to the
detection, deterrence and prevention of doping.

The Code was developed to universally harmonise the core anti-doping elements. It was intended to be specific enough to achieve complete harmonisation on issues where uniformity is required, yet general enough in other areas to permit flexibility on how the agreed-upon anti-doping principles were to be implemented.

The Signatories to the World Anti-Doping Code (the Code) commit to comply
with legal, technical and operational requirements that are set out in the Code and the accompanying International Standards.

This is necessary to deliver harmonized, coordinated and effective Anti-Doping Programs at the international and national level, so that Athletes and other stakeholders can experience doping-free competition on a level playing field wherever sport is played.

The Code incorporates Models of Best Practice and Guidelines based on the Code and International Standards that organisations who are signatories can adopt. These were developed to provide solutions in different areas of anti-doping.

The models and guidelines are recommended by WADA and made available to Signatories and other relevant stakeholders but are not mandatory.

What Models are there?

There are models for:

• National anti-doping organisations (like ASADA)
• International sporting federations (like FINA)
• National olympic committees (like the AOC)
• Major events organisations (like the Commonwealth Games Committee)

There are also some International Standards that apply to the implementation of the processes set out in the models of best practice.

One of the most important of these is the standard for the protection of personal information.

This is The World Anti-Doping International Standard for the Protection of Privacy and Personal Information.

In my next article I will touch on the rights of athletes and organisations in regard to privacy considerations that exist in the heated moments of administering doping violations.

Bruce Havilah is a lawyer experienced in Sports Law including Not-For Profit Governance.

em>This website and blog is made available by Havilah Legal only to give you general information and a general understanding of the law. It is not legal advice, and should not be treated as such.

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