The ITA Legal Affairs Department is composed of lawyers with expertise in the field of sports law. It oversees the results management of anti-doping rule violations, from the initial review stage to the appeal phase before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The Legal Affairs Department has currently managed more than 200 cases at the ITA, including complex matters such as positive findings stemming from the 2012 London Games re-analysis program, tampering cases, and the so-called ‘Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS)’ affairs, amongst others.
ITA’s Legal Affairs is supported by both the Science & Medical Department and the Intelligence & Investigations Department to build cases. Cases are resolved either via sanctioning agreements or prosecution before different first instance hearing panels, such as the Anti-Doping Division of the CAS, or in the scope of appeals before the CAS.
For any Anti-Doping Organisation (ADO) that does not refer its disputes to the Anti-Doping Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport or another first instance hearing panel, the ITA has set up the “International Hearing Panel”, an external independent first instance tribunal service to be operated by Sport Resolutions. The International Hearing Panel will be operated independently from the ADOs and the ITA and in full compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code and the new International Standard for Results Management (“ISRM”).
The Department is also in charge of the management of whereabouts failures and provides legal support and counselling to International Federations and other partners.
