Lausanne
Declaration on Doping in Sport
Adopted by the World Conference
on Doping in Sport
4 February 1999, Lausanne,
Switzerland
Considering that doping practices
contravene sport and medical ethics, and that they constitute violations
of the rules established by the Olympic Movement, and concerned by the
threat that doping poses to the health of athletes and youth in general;
Recognizing that the fight
against doping in sport is the concern of all: the Olympic Movement and
other sports organizations, governments, inter-governmental and non-governmental
organizations, sportsmen and sportswomen throughout the world, and their
entourage;
The World Conference on Doping
in Sport, with the participation of representatives of governments, of
inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations, of the International
Olympic Committee (IOC), the International sports Federations (IFs), the
National Olympic Committees (NOCs), and of the athletes, declares:
1. Education, prevention
and athletes' rights
The Olympic oath shall be
extended to coaches and other officials, and shall include the respect
of integrity, ethics and fair play in sport. Educational and preventive
campaigns will be intensified, focusing principally on youth, and athletes
and their entourage. Complete transparency shall be assured in all activities
to fight doping, except for preserving the confidentiality necessary to
protect the fundamental rights of athletes. Partnership with the media
shall be sought in anti-doping campaigns.
2. Olympic Movement Anti-Doping
Code
The Olympic Movement Anti-Doping
Code is accepted as the basis for the fight against doping, which is defined
as the use of an artifice, whether substance or method, potentially dangerous
to athletes' health and/or capable of enhancing their performances, or
the presence in the athlete's body of a substance, or the ascertainment
of the use of a method on the list annexed to the Olympic Movement Anti-Doping
Code.
The Olympic Movement Anti-Doping
Code applies to all athletes, coaches, instructors, officials, and to all
medical and paramedical staff working with athletes or treating athletes
participating in or training for sports competitions organized within the
framework of the Olympic Movement.
3. Sanctions
The sanctions which apply
to doping violations will be imposed in the framework of controls both
during and out of competition.
In accordance with the wishes
of the athletes, the NOCs and a large majority of the IFs, the minimum
required sanction for major doping substances or prohibited methods shall
be a suspension of the athlete from all competition for a period of two
years, for a first offence. However, based on specific, exceptional circumstances
to be evaluated in the first instance by the competent IF bodies, there
may be a provision for a possible modification of the two-year sanction.
Additional sanctions or measures may be applied. More severe sanctions
shall apply to coaches and officials guilty of violations of the Olympic
Movement Anti-Doping Code.
4. International Anti-Doping
Agency
An independent International
Anti-Doping Agency shall be established so as to be fully operational for
the Games of the XXVII Olympiad in Sydney in 2000. This institution will
have as its mandate, notably, to coordinate the various programmes necessary
to realize the objectives that shall be defined jointly by all the parties
concerned. Among these programmes, consideration should be given in particular
to expanding out-of-competition testing, coordinating research, promoting
preventive and educational actions and harmonizing scientific and technical
standards and procedures for analyses and equipment. A working group representing
the Olympic Movement, including the athletes, as well as the governments
and inter-governmental organizations concerned, will meet, on the initiative
of the IOC, within three months, to define the structure, mission and financing
of the Agency. The Olympic Movement commits to allocate a capital of US
$25 million to the Agency.
5. Responsibilities of
the IOC, the IFs, the NOCs and the CAS
The IOC, the IFs and the
NOCs will maintain their respective competence and responsibility to apply
doping rules in accordance with their own procedures, and in cooperation
with the International Anti-Doping Agency. Consequently, decisions handed
down in the first instance will be under the exclusive responsibility of
the IFs, the NOCs or, during the Olympic Games, the IOC. With regard to
last instance appeals, the IOC, the IFs and the NOCs recognize the authority
of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), after their own procedures
have been exhausted.
In order to protect athletes
and their rights in the area of disciplinary procedure, the general principles
of law, such as the right to a hearing, the right to legal assistance,
and the right to present evidence and call witnesses, will be confirmed
and incorporated into all applicable procedures.
6. Collaboration between
the Olympic Movement and public authorities
The collaboration in the
fight against doping between sports organizations and public authorities
shall be reinforced according to the responsibilities of each party. Together,
they will also take action in the areas of education, scientific research,
social and health measures to protect athletes, and coordination of legislation
relative to doping.
Done in Lausanne (Switzerland),
4 February 1999 |