Dan Roan · @danroan
6th Nov 2015 from TwitLonger
Statement by Chairman of IAAF Ethics Commission
Statement by the Chairman of the IAAF Ethics Commission, The Honourable Michael Beloff QC
6 November 2015
Up until Friday 6 November 2015, the IAAF Ethics Commission has operated under rules which prevented any disclosure of its activities unless and until any disciplinary proceedings for potential breaches of the IAAF’s Code of Ethics were completed. This has led to an imperfect understanding of the Commission’s role and functions, especially in relation to the allegations concerning the Russian athlete Liliya Shobukhova andconcealment of her doping violations. With the encouragement and support of the Ethics Commission, these restrictions have been lifted by the IAAF Council with effect from today and the Ethics Commission is now in a position to provide the following information.
The Ethics Commission received a complaint in relation to the matter referred to above and, in accordance with the procedural rules of the Ethics Commission, the Chairman, the Honourable Michael J Beloff QC, determined that there was a case fit for investigation and appointed the Right Honourable Sir Anthony Hooper, a recently retired Lord Justice of Appeal of England and Wales with particular expertise in criminal law, to investigate the allegations.
In the course of Sir Anthony’s investigations, he liaised with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), in respect of the extensive and detailed investigation it has been undertaking with wider terms of reference and which is shortly to report its findings, and shared information with that agency.
Sir Anthony submitted his investigation report to the IAAF Ethics Commission in August 2015, recommending that disciplinary charges be brought against four persons, namely: Papa Massata Diack, former consultant to the IAAF, Valentin Balakhnichev, former President of the All-Russia Athletic Federation (ARAF), Alexei Melnikov, former Chief ARAF Coach for long distance walkers and runners, and Gabriel Dollé, former Director of the IAAF’s Anti-Doping Department, for various alleged breaches of the IAAF Code of Ethics.
As required by the Ethics Commission’s rules, the outcome of the investigation and the investigator’s recommendations were reviewed and assessed by another member of the Ethics Commission, Kevan Gosper, a former Vice-President of the International Olympic Committee, who endorsed the recommendations.
Charges were sent to those four persons in September 2015 and a hearing has been fixed to take place in London over 16-18 December 2015, to consider the cases against them, including their defences and evidence to be provided by or on their behalf. The cases will be determined by a Panel of the Ethics Commission consisting of the Chairman of the Ethics Commission, Michael Beloff QC (UK), and two other members of the Commission, Thomas H. Murray, Ph.D., (USA) President Emeritus of the Hastings Center, a renowned research institution dedicated to bioethics and the public interest, and Akira Kawamura (Japan), a former President of the International Bar Association. In accordance with the rules of the Ethics Commission, the hearing will be held in private. The Panel’s determination will be published as soon as possible thereafter. The Ethics Commission stresses that the presumption of innocence applies until such point as a disciplinary case is found proved against any person.
An investigation is also ongoing in respect of an additional person, and the Ethics Commission will also pay close regard to any further information emanating from WADA or any other source. If the ongoing investigation leads to disciplinary charges being laid against any other persons, the Ethics Commission will provide an update on the fact that such additional charges have been laid at that time.
In the meantime the Ethics Commission does not intend to provide further comment on the substance of the charges in this complex matter, which will be the subject of final determinations in due course.