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Court of Arbitration For Sport Upholds International Olympic Committee's Decision To Suspend Russian Olympic Committee
Rajesh Kumar
26 Feb 2024 5:45 AM GMT
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed Russia's bid to reverse the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) decision to suspend its official status. The IOC took this action after Russia attempted to absorb Ukrainian sports organizations following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Established in 1984, the CAS is a global organization dedicated to resolving sports-related...
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed Russia's bid to reverse the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) decision to suspend its official status. The IOC took this action after Russia attempted to absorb Ukrainian sports organizations following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Established in 1984, the CAS is a global organization dedicated to resolving sports-related disputes through arbitration. CAS is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, and operates courts in New York City, Sydney, and its primary location in Lausanne.
Brief Facts:
The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) filed an appeal in CAS on November 6, challenging the IOC's decision to suspend it "until further notice." This suspension was a consequence of the ROC's attempt to include regional sports organizations under the authority of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine.
The IOC ruled that the ROC's decision to declare Ukrainian organizations under Russian authority violated the Olympic Charter by compromising the territorial integrity of Ukraine's National Olympic Committee. Consequently, the ROC lost its official national Olympic committee status and its committee funding.
Decision of Court of Arbitration for Sport:
The CAS panel overseeing the appeal upheld the IOC's October 12 decision, stating that the Olympic organization did not violate the principles of legality, equality, predictability, or proportionality in suspending the ROC.
“The CAS Panel in charge of this matter dismissed the appeal and confirmed the Challenged Decision, finding that the IOC EB did not breach the principles of legality, equality, predictability or proportionality.”
Despite the CAS decision, the ROC still has one more avenue for appeal. It has 30 days to file an appeal "on limited grounds" to the Swiss Federal Tribunal. The CAS decision is currently subject to a confidentiality review, allowing involved parties to request that the decision or information within it remain confidential.
As a result of the suspension, the ROC is prohibited from operating as a National Olympic Committee and is ineligible to receive funding from the Olympic Movement. While individual Russian athletes can still participate in the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and the 2026 Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, they are not allowed to compete under the Russian flag. Instead, they must participate as neutrals, in accordance with the IOC's decision.
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