Sport court prepares for Winter Olympics
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is to open two temporary offices in Milan for the Winter Olympic Games, which begin on Friday 6 February.
The Lausanne-based court’s ad hoc division will work to settle legal disputes that arise during the games, while its CAS Anti-Doping Division (CAS ADD) will decide on any doping-related cases.
CAS first opened a temporary tribunal for the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996.
Simplified rules
The ad hoc division has tailored and simplified rules aimed at resolving legal disputes more quickly – sometimes less than 24 hours after a case is filed.
The CAS says that the arrangements mean that athletes and sporting federations are guaranteed free access to “quality dispute-resolution services” that are compatible with the Olympic competition schedule.
CAS ADD decides whether a doping offence has been committed and if a sanction should be imposed.
Cases are referred to the CAS ADD by the International Testing Agency (ITA) and decided in accordance with the anti-doping rules of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
CAS ADD first opened for the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro and became a permanent structure at CAS in 2019.