Lex Sportiva and the Regulation of Doping in International Sport

The anti-doping system may be described as a private contractual order that is relatively autonomous from national legal systems. It consists of a number of private actors, including the World Anti-Doping Agency, the International Olympic Committee, and various international and national sport federations. Disputes arising within the anti-doping system are resolved by delocalized sport-specific arbitration tribunals. The autonomy of the anti-doping system has led to concerns that, due to a lack of oversight by national legal systems, anti-doping rules now infringe on the privacy rights of athletes, normally protected under national law. Despite the validity of such concerns, it is arguably inappropriate to use national law to alter the application of anti-doping rules in any one country, as it would fragment the anti-doping system and risk the effective regulation of doping in sport. Rather, if there are serious concerns about violations of athletes’ privacy rights, then modifications to anti-doping rules must occur at the international level to ensure uniformity in the fight against doping in sport.