Obstruction of Justice: The Arbitration Process For Anti-Doping Violations during the Olympic Games

Authors

Andrew Goldstone

Abstract

This Note will discuss the serious legal, ethical, and scientific questions raised by the dispute resolution process for anti-doping violations during the Olympic Games. Throughout the Note, I will highlight both procedural and substantive aspects of the process which raise sufficiently serious legal issues to merit an American court's agreement to review an Olympic arbitration award. Part I will discuss the rise of doping in sports, and the manner in which the problem has been, and is currently being addressed within the Olympic Movement. Part II will explain the hierarchy of sports governing bodies beneath the IOC and also discuss the central role of the Court of Arbitration for Sport ("CAS") in the growth of the anti-doping movement and the enforcement of the Anti-Doping Code. Part III will discuss the due process concerns raised by the doctrine of strict liability as applied to anti-doping violations. Part IV will discuss the viability of bringing a legal challenge to an Olympic arbitration award in a United States court. Finally, Part V will examine three different dispute resolution methods which would better protect the rights of an athlete accused of an antidoping violation.

Disciplines

Courts | Dispute Resolution and Arbitration | Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law | Law

Recommended Citation

Andrew Goldstone, Obstruction of Justice: The Arbitration Process For Anti-Doping Violations during the Olympic Games, 7 Cardozo J. Conflict Resol. 361 (2006).
Available at: https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/cjcr/vol7/iss2/10