Civil law

 

The civil law basis of the Swiss fight against doping consists of the norms established by various actors in the sporting world. These actors are in most cases clubs, associations and foundations in accordance with the stipulations of the Swiss civil code.

 

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) publishes the World Anti-Doping-Programme (WADP), which consists primarily of the Code and of the Internationalen Standards. Swiss Olympic and Antidoping Switzerland are contractually bound by WADA to implement the WADP in Switzerland.

 

The Assembly of Delegates of Swiss Olympic, which is also known as the Sports Parliament, publishes the Doping Statute. This statute represents the implementation of the Code. Article 2 of the Statute exhaustively defines the anti-doping provisions; in contrast to the above-mentioned federal act, the Statute stresses the penalties to be imposed on athletes who resort to doping, not the persons and activities around the athlete  (although it does not exclude the latter from its area of application). Article 10 of the Statute defines the penalties for the violations described in Article 2.

 

Antidoping Switzerland publishes the implementation provisions for the Doping Statute. These provisions describe the implementation of the International Standards in the area of exemptions for therapeutic purposes and defines the procedure for controls. In addition, Antidoping Switzerland also produces the annual Doping List, which implements the International List standards.

 

The Doping Statute and its implementation provisions – a delegation is responsible for the provisions – are binding for all associations affiliated to Swiss Olympic and are therefore also binding for all athletes in these associations.

 

International associations also implement the WADP. Like the Doping Statute and its implementation provisions, the norms of the international associations are binding for the national associations and for their athletes. In the event of differences of regulation, these norms take precedence over the Statute and the implementation provisions.