Disciplinary Proceedings

Introduction

In the Netherlands, the disciplinary proceedings relating to possible doping violations are the responsibility of the sports associations. A number of sports associations have their 'own' disciplinary and appeals committees but a large, and increasing, number of associations call in the Institute for Sports Law (ISR), which now makes decisions in doping proceedings on behalf of approximately 80% of the associations.

The position of the Doping Authority in disciplinary procedures

The disciplinary and appeals committees arrive at their decisions independently of the Doping Authority. This does not mean that the Doping Authority is not closely involved in disciplinary proceedings relating to possible doping violations. Clearly, the Doping Authority's task is to ensure that disciplinary proceedings for doping cases in the Netherlands are conducted correctly in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code and Dutch doping regulations based on that code. The Doping Regulations of the sports associations and the ISR describe and determine the various tasks incumbent upon the Doping Authority in disciplinary procedures. Those tasks involve, on the one hand, supporting and advising the disciplinary bodies in the interpretation and application of the doping regulations and, on the other, correcting decisions that do not comply with those regulations.
The auxiliary role is seen primarily in the contributions made by the Doping Authority during the disciplinary procedures: the Doping Authority is cognisant of the case, states written arguments in which all the relevant regulatory factors are discussed and explained, and also speaks at hearings it attends.
The corrective role is seen primarily in the right to appeal that the Doping Authority has in all doping cases, both with national appeals committees and with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne. Furthermore, the Doping Authority is competent to initiate proceedings with the disciplinary committee of an association independently without calling in the board of the association. The Doping Authority did not submit any appeals to the CAS in 2015. The CAS did rule in a case in which the Doping Authority had submitted an appeal in 2014.
During the year under review, the Doping Authority did submit written arguments in all disciplinary proceedings in the first instance, with in some cases additional arguments when required by the subsequent proceedings. The Doping Authority attended almost all the hearings in these proceedings. When athletes and/or associations appealed against decisions, supplementary statements of arguments were written in all cases.

Reporting to WADA and International Sports Federations

The Doping Authority reports on the disciplinary proceedings in doping cases to WADA, which is also entitled to appeal against decisions in those cases. The reports take the form of sending the written decision to WADA, answering supplementary questions upon request, and producing supplementary documents and translations of relevant parts of a file.
The Doping Authority also reports upon request to international sports federations but only if the Dutch sports association in question does not do so or fails to do so in full. International federations are also entitled to make appeals in Dutch doping proceedings but no decision was given in 2016 in the case in which an international federation appealed against a decision made by a Dutch disciplinary body.

Reporting on disciplinary decisions

With effect from 2013, the Doping Authority reports on disciplinary proceedings in doping cases in its own annual report. In that way, the Doping Authority will be reporting – as described above – on procedures in which the Doping Authority is indeed very closely involved but for which the primary responsibility resides elsewhere (in other words, with the sports associations). The decision to proceed in this way was based primarily on the dissolution of the Doping Affairs Audit Committee, a board committee of the NOC*NSF, which published periodical reports prior to 2013 about disciplinary proceedings relating to all cases of doping in the Netherlands.

The table below lists all ten decisions made by the Dutch disciplinary and appeals bodies in doping proceedings during 2016 (inclusion in the table depends upon the date of the decision).

Where decisions were made in the same case in 2015 in both the first instance and in appeal, the report includes only the appeal decision. If a decision was made pursuant to an appeal, this is stated in the final column together with an indication of which party or parties submitted the appeal. If a doping violation was transferred by an organisation from another country to the Netherlands for disciplinary proceedings, this is also stated.

Finally, this chapter concludes with a table listing four decisions by foreign disciplinary bodies involving athletes with the Dutch nationality.