Doping In Sport
Doping is the voluntary or involuntary use of performance-enhancing substances by an athlete in order to achieve physiological or psychological superiority in competitions.
Doping cannot be evaluated only in sporting terms. Doping has a sportive, moral and ethical dimension as well as a legal basis.
In the world and in our country, studies on the fight against doping are being carried out and regulatory bodies are being established. Although there is no legal regulation regarding the fight against doping in Turkey, the Turkish Anti-Doping Instruction dated January 1, 2015, which regulates the provisions and consequences in question, is the basic and binding regulation regarding doping in sports law. Implementation of this Instruction is carried out by the Turkish Anti-Doping Commission. Legislation in all countries has been harmonized with the rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency and efforts have been made to create a uniform practice across the world.
Sanctions related to doping are directly related to legal regulations and general principles of law. However, as it is thought, the issue of doping is in parallel with the principles of private law rather than the principles of criminal law. When the CAS (International Court of Arbitration for Sport) evaluations are examined, the sanctions in question are associated with civil law rules rather than criminal law. In addition, another reason why sanctions related to doping cannot be reconciled with criminal law is that these sanctions have the nature of disciplinary rules rather than criminal sanctions. Therefore, the principles developed within the sanction system of the state will not find a field of application. In this respect, it is accepted that Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, entitled the right to a fair trial, will not be applied in the fight against doping.
On the other hand, issues related to anti-doping can only be regulated by an instruction and existing regulations cannot be expanded and interpreted. In fact, in this respect, a parallel principle with the principle of legality in crime and punishment has been accepted. Contrary to the usual system of anti-doping proceedings, proceedings are conducted through the disciplinary boards of the federation to which the athlete is affiliated, not through the courts. The decisions of the disciplinary boards of the relevant federation are binding and cannot be overturned or annulled by any court other than the Arbitration Council or the International Arbitration Council unless there is a judicial-legal error.
There are also principles and rules governing anti-doping proceedings. The most important rule in this regard relates to which organization and/or person has the burden of proof. According to the Code, the Anti-Doping Commission has the burden of proof of doping. The Anti-Doping Commission must prove that doping has occurred, and only then can sanctions be imposed.
As mentioned, doping-related proceedings are carried out by the disciplinary boards within the federations. As a continuation of this, there is an appeal against the decision of the disciplinary board, but the appeal will be made to the disciplinary board, not to a court. In other words, the appeal, which can be likened to legal remedies, is also within the board.
If there is a doping dispute in terms of international competitions, the appeal can only be made to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport. As stated in the World Anti-Doping Agency’s instructions, it is the athlete’s own responsibility to ensure that the active substance that may cause a doping rule violation enters the athlete’s body. For this reason, strict liability is accepted in doping rule violations. If a doping rule violation is detected and proven, investments can be applied to individual athletes as well as sports teams. If a doping rule violation is detected, there are consequences such as disqualification penalties, cancellation of the degrees obtained, cancellation of the competition in question, return of the prizes won, financial sanctions and withholding of financial aid from the state.
There are of course exceptions to doping rule violations. This exception is therapeutic use. However, mere therapeutic use cannot be seen as an exception to the sanction. Therapeutic use must meet certain conditions.
The athlete is at risk of serious health problems if he/she does not use the prohibited substance or method
The substance used for treatment will not significantly improve the athlete’s performance
No alternative treatment method to the prohibited substance or method