Doping is generally accepted that an athlete uses performance-enhancing active substances at will or against his will in order to achieve physiological or psychological superiority in competitions.
Doping will not only be subject to sports evaluation. Doping has a sporting, moral, ethical dimension, as well as a legal basis.
Studies on the fight against doping in the world and in our country are being carried out and regulatory bodies are being notified. Although there are no legal regulations on combating doping in Turkey, the Turkish Anti-Doping Instruction of January 1, 2015, which regulates these provisions and results, is the basic and binding regulation on doping in sports law. The applications related to this Instruction are carried out by the Turkish Anti-Doping Commission. In all countries, the legislation has been harmonized with the rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency and efforts have been made to create a uniform practice around the world.
Sanctions related to doping are directly related to legal regulations and general principles of law. However, as it is thought, the doping issue parallels the principles of private law rather than the principles of criminal law. Judging by the assessments of the CAS (International Court of Arbitration for Sport), these sanctions are associated with the rules of civil law rather than criminal law. In addition, another reason why sanctions related to doping cannot be reconciled with criminal law is that these sanctions have the nature of disciplinary rules rather than criminal sanctions. For this reason, the principles developed within the state’s sanctions system will not be able to find an application area. 6 Of the European Convention on Human Rights entitled the right to a fair trial. In this regard, it is accepted that the article will not be applied in the fight against doping.
On the other hand, the issues related to the fight against doping can only be regulated by instructions, and the current regulations cannot be expanded and interpreted. Originally, in this regard, a parallel principle was adopted with the principle of legality in crime and punishment. Unlike the usual anti-doping judicial system, the proceedings are conducted not through the courts, but through the disciplinary boards of the federation to which the athlete is affiliated. The decisions made by the disciplinary boards of the relevant federation are binding and cannot be overturned or eliminated by any court other than the Arbitration Board or the International Arbitration Board, unless there are any judicial and legal errors.
There are also principles and rules governing the trial in the fight against doping. The most important rule in this regard relates to which institution and/or person has the burden of proof. According to the Instruction, the burden of proof of doping is with the Anti-Doping Commission. The Commission must provide proof of the use of doping, which can only be sanctioned in this case.
As mentioned, the proceedings related to doping are conducted by disciplinary boards within the federations. In addition, if there is a way to appeal against the decision of the disciplinary board, this appeal will again be made not to a court, but to the disciplinary board. In other words, the appeal, which can be likened to legal means, is again within the board.
If there is a doping dispute in terms of international competitions, an appeal can only be made to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport. As stated in the instructions of the World Anti-Doping Agency, it is the athlete’s responsibility to enter the active substance into the athlete’s body, which can lead to a violation of the doping rule. For this reason, a state of perfect responsibility has been accepted for doping rule violations. If a doping rule violation is detected and proven, the investments can be applied to athletes individually and can also be applied to sports teams. If a doping rule violation is detected, there are consequences such as deprivation of rights penalties, cancellation of degrees obtained, cancellation of the competition in question, return of prizes won, financial sanctions and withdrawal of financial assistance from the state.
There are also many exceptions to doping rule violations. The exception to this is also therapeutic use. However, use for therapeutic purposes only cannot be regarded as an exception to the sanction. Therapeutic use should have some considerations.
The athlete is at risk of experiencing serious health problems if he does not use the prohibited substance or method
The fact that the substance used for the purpose of treatment will not seriously improve the performance of the athlete
The absence of an alternative method of treatment with a prohibited substance or method
