Advice on anti-doping issues

A professional Victorian event management body was considering bringing a major international sports event to Victoria. Sports Lawyer provided detailed specialist written advice to the client concerning the anti doping legislation that would apply to the international athletes. As Paul Horvath is a published author in this area, he was able to provide the advice required as to what testing regimes the athletes may be subject to whilst in this country, and whether or not the athletes were obliged to comply with the testing, and if they did not, what consequences flowed from that. 

The Australian Sports Anti Doping Authority Act (Cth) 2006 is a very broad reaching piece of legislation. All athletes, whether Australians or visiting athletes participating in international level competition, or at an international standard, may be subject to compulsory testing. The results may not be enforcable if the sport does not prohibit the substance, but a positive test finding may lead to unwanted media attention and adverse comment back in the athlete's home country. Ultimately, for a range of reasons, it was decided not to host the event in Victoria. 

Reviewing the Rules of a Sporting Assciation

Sports Lawyer was asked to review the rules of a Melbourne Metropolitan Football League. Paul Horvath initially reviewed the Tribunal Rules to ensure that they were cleared and that there was no uncertainty about meaning. It was found that with cases that had arisen over a number of years, and defences used in the Tribunal, some Rules needed clarification. Also, some practises that occured in Tribunal hearings were unwritten rules that everyone understood, but they were not in the written Rules.

It was only a matter of time before a party challenged the Rules because as they were written they did not specifically ban certain conduct, even though all Tribunal participants knew of the unwritten rule. The change was needed. About twelve months later, the same client asked Sports Lawyer to overhaul the entire constitution to remove outdated clauses and to put it into a logical order. It is not uncommon that 20-30 years can pass without constitutions or rules being updated.

This may leave a League exposed to some legal risk or liability as the rules may be inaccurate and outdated and may not suit the current board's needs. The Rules may have been created in a different era when the financial resources available to the League were much more limited. The Rules are now much easier to read and make much more sense.