IHRC submits amicus curiae brief to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in the Caster Semenya v. Switzerland case
In the fall of 2024, the International Human Rights Centre of Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, and the T.M.C. Asser Institute International Sports Law Centre submitted an amicus curiae brief to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in the Caster Semenya v. Switzerland case. The brief addressed the question of the independence and impartiality of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and whether it meets the requirements of Article 6.1 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
On July 10, 2025, the Grand Chamber issued its judgment. While the majority refrained from addressing the question of independence and impartiality directly because plaintiff had not raised it previously, it affirmed that “the CAS’s exclusive jurisdiction for resolving a dispute between a sports organisation and a sportsperson has been imposed on that person, he or she must be able to benefit from the safeguards provided for by Article 6 § 1 of the [European] Convention [on Human Rights]” (para. 205). It reached that conclusion by noting that “…the inherent dominance enjoyed by sport governing bodies in the system of international sports arbitration must also be taken into account: the CAS was established under the auspices of the IOC; the members of the ICAS, the functions of which include adopting and amending the Code of Sports-related Arbitration and appointing the persons listed as CAS arbitrators, are appointed directly or indirectly by the Associations of Olympic International Sports Federations, the Association of the National Olympic Committees and the IOC; the ICAS is responsible for the functioning and financing of the CAS under the Code of Sports-related Arbitration, which the ICAS itself issued and which regulates the CAS and sets out its Procedural Rules” (para. 203). “In consequence, sport governing bodies are in a position to dictate conditions in their relationship with sportspersons, in that they regulate international sports competitions, are able to impose the mandatory and exclusive jurisdiction of the CAS for the examination of disputes relating to those regulations, and exercise structural control over the international sports arbitration system.” (para. 204).
Judge Simackova in her strong separate opinion agreed with, and referred extensively to, the IHRC brief.
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