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SPORTS, DRUGS AND THE LAW
by Antonio (Tony) Buti
and Saul Fridman

FOREWORD

The newly elected President of the International Committee ("IOC") Jacques Rogge said in his first public statement, "The priority for the Olympic movement is the fight against doping". The complexities of the strategy involved in such a battle are vividly exposed in this newest contribution to the expanding literature on drugs and sport. Although Sydney was for a brief, glorious and unforgettable moment, the focus of attention of a world sporting community ranging from the most golden of champions to the telewatching couch potato, it is the particular Australian perspective which gives novelty and bite to the book. Australia has provided one of the two non-Swiss outposts of the Court of Arbitration for Sport ("CASS") and this has generated a volume of case law arising out of antipodean disputes. Moreover, Robert Ellicott QC, former Attorney-General, is one of a sextet of judges of the tribunal of the International Athletic Federation ("IAAF"), and his determinations also provide one of the many threads of this analysis.

The mention of two international tribunals illustrates the proposition that the battle against substance abuse takes place on a minefield. Which bodies have jurisdiction, over what, and with what priority presents to the sports lawyer issues as complex as any in international commercial litigation. The authors properly grapple with this issue at the outset.

There are two other prime subjects for consideration. The first is a question of fact - how large is the problem? Some reputable observers of the sports scene cynically – or, depending on one's point of view, realistically - believe that the pure athlete is a figment of imagination or a fifties retread; others that a small handful of malefactors is unfairly giving world sports a bad name. The second is a question of judgment - what is the solution to the problem, whatever its dimension may be? Should resources be concentrated on pursuing disciplinary sanctions against alleged rule breakers, in the light of the time and expense involved, the difficulties of obtaining convictions, the uncertain jurisprudence as to the compatibility of strict liability offences with modern concepts of fair trials and human rights (not to speak of questions as to its inherent equity), or should the laws against the taking of performance enhanced substances be abandoned, leaving it to the market and morality to decide down which route athletes choose to travel? This book may not supply definitive answers to these and other questions, but it pithily, yet prudently, supplies the material from which readers can make their own judgments with a wealth of cogently considered case law and ample reference to the public and published literature. No serious sports lawyer or administrator could regard the book as other than a good investment.Blackstone Chambers

THE HONOURABLE MICHAEL J BELOFF QC
Blackstone House Master of the Bench of Gray's Inn
Temple Member of the Court of Arbitration for Sport
London EC4Y 9BW
Judge of the Court of Appeal of Jersey and Guernsey

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