14. Reporting, Confidentiality, And Public Disclosure

14.    Reporting, Confidentiality, And Public Disclosure

The principles of coordination of anti-doping results, public transparency and accountability and respect for the privacy of all Athletes or other Persons are as follows:

14.1 Information Concerning Adverse Analytical Findings, Atypical Findings, and other Asserted Anti- Doping Rule Violations

14.1.1 Notice of Anti-Doping Rule Violations to Athletes and other Persons

All notices referred to in the Rules shall be governed by the provisions of this Rule.

14.1.1.1 Each Athlete in the Commission’s Registered Testing Pool shall provide the Commission with a physical address, a mailing address and an email address to which notice may be delivered. In the Event of a change of any address it is the responsibility of the Athlete to provide the Commission with such amended details. Where no address is provided any notice may be given to the Athlete by giving notice to the relevant National Sporting Organisation, International Federation or Anti-Doping Organisation. If the notification takes place via these organisations, they shall confirm the notification to the Commission.

14.1.1.2 All notices to an Athlete in the Commission’s Registered Testing Pool, including but not limited to notices relating to allegations that an anti- doping rule violation has occurred, shall be delivered by courier, registered post or email to at least one of the addresses provided by the Athlete under Rule 14.1.1.1. Proof of delivery by courier, registered post or email shall be conclusive. In any event, notice shall be deemed to have been received upon the expiry of three working days after the date of despatch.

14.1.1.3 Any other notice to an Athlete or other Person, including but not limited to notices relating to allegations that an anti-doping rule violation has occurred, shall be given by sending the notice to the physical address, mailing address or email address provided by that Athlete or Person. Such notice shall be deemed to have been received upon the expiry of three working days after the date of despatch.

14.1.1.4 The Commission may, with the prior agreement of the intended recipient, as an alternative to, or in conjunction with, any notice provided under Rules 14.1.1.2 or 14.1.1.3 use any other method of communication available, including, but not limited to, facsimile and telephone.

14.1.2 Notice of Anti-Doping Rule Violations to National Anti-Doping Organisations, International Federations and WADA

The Commission shall also notify the Athlete’s National Anti-Doping Organisation, International Federation and WADA of the assertion of an anti-doping rule violation simultaneously with the notice to the Athlete or other Person.

14.1.3 Content of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation Notice

Notification shall include: the Athlete’s or other Person’s name, country, sport and discipline within the sport, the Athlete’s competitive level, whether the test was In- Competition or Out-of-Competition, the date of Sample collection, the analytical result reported by the laboratory and other information as required by the International Standard for Results Management, or, for anti-doping rule violations other than Rule 2.1, the Rule violated and the basis of the asserted violation.

14.1.4 Status Reports

Except with respect to investigations which have not resulted in a notice of an anti- doping rule violation pursuant to Rule 14.1.1, the Anti-Doping Organisations referenced in Rule 14.1.2 shall be regularly updated on the status and findings of any review or proceedings conducted pursuant to Rule 7, 8 or 13 and shall be provided with a prompt written reasoned explanation or decision explaining the resolution of the matter. The Commission may also update the Sports Tribunal on the status of proceedings conducted pursuant to Rule 13.

14.1.5 Confidentiality

The recipient organisations shall not disclose this information beyond those Persons with a need to know (which would include the appropriate personnel at the applicable National Olympic and/or Paralympic Committee, National Federation, and team in a Team Sport) until the Commission has made Public Disclosure as required by Rule 14.3.⁷⁸ 

14.2 Notice of Anti-Doping Rule Violation or violations of Ineligibility or Provisional Suspension Decisions and Request for Files

14.2.1 Anti-doping rule violation decisions or decisions related to violations of Ineligibility or Provisional Suspension rendered pursuant to Rule 7.6, 8.4, 10.5, 10.6, 10.7, 10.14.3 or 13.5 shall include the full reasons for the decision, including, if applicable, a justification for why the maximum potential sanction was not imposed.

14.2.2 An Anti-Doping Organisation having a right to appeal a decision received pursuant to Rule 14.2.1 may, within 15 days of receipt, request a copy of the full case file pertaining to the decision.

14.3 Public Disclosure

14.3.1 After notice has been provided to the Athlete or other Person in accordance with the International Standard for Results Management, and to the applicable Anti-Doping Organisations in accordance with Rule 14.1.2, the identity of any Athlete or other Person who is notified of a potential anti-doping rule violation, the Prohibited Substance or Prohibited Method and nature of the violation involved, and whether the Athlete or other Person is subject to a Provisional Suspension may be Publicly Disclosed by the Commission or other Anti-Doping Organisation with Results Management responsibility.  The Commission may Publicly Disclose the outcome of any substantive decision of the Sports Tribunal.   

14.3.2 No later than twenty days after it has been determined in an appellate decision under Rule 13.2.1 or 13.2.2, or such appeal has been waived, or a hearing in accordance with Rule 8 has been waived, or the assertion of an anti-doping rule violation has not otherwise been timely challenged, or the matter has been resolved under Rule 10.8, or a new period of Ineligibility, or reprimand, has been imposed under Rule 10.14.3,  the Commission must Publicly Disclose the disposition of the anti-doping matter including the sport, the anti-doping rule violated, the name of the Athlete or other Person committing the violation, the Prohibited Substance or Prohibited Method involved (if any) and the Consequences imposed. the Commission must also Publicly Disclose within twenty days the results of appellate decisions concerning anti-doping rule violations, including the information described above.⁷⁹ 

14.3.3 After an anti-doping rule violation has been determined to have been committed in an appellate decision under Rules 13.2.1 or 13.2.2 or such appeal has been waived, or in a hearing in accordance with Rule 8 or where such hearing has been waived, or the assertion of an anti-doping rule violation has not otherwise been timely challenged, or the matter has been resolved under Rule 10.8, the Commission or other Anti-Doping Organisation responsible for Results Management may make public such determination or decision and may comment publicly on the matter.

14.3.4 In any case where it is determined, after a hearing or appeal, that the Athlete or other Person did not commit an anti-doping rule violation, the fact that the decision has been appealed may be Publicly Disclosed. However, the decision itself and the underlying facts may not be Publicly Disclosed except with the consent of the Athlete or other Person who is the subject of the decision. The Commission shall use reasonable efforts to obtain such consent, and if consent is obtained, shall Publicly Disclose the decision in its entirety or in such redacted form as the Athlete or other Person may approve.

14.3.5 Publication shall be accomplished at a minimum by placing the required information on the Commission’s website and leaving the information up for the longer of one month or the duration of any period of Ineligibility.

14.3.6 Except as provided in Rules 14.3.1 and 14.3.3, neither the Commission nor any Anti- Doping Organisation, National Sporting Organisation or WADA-accredited laboratory, nor any official of the Commission or of any such body, shall publicly comment on the specific facts of any pending case (as opposed to general description of process and science) except in response to public comments attributed to, or based on information provided by, the Athlete, other Person or their entourage or other representatives.

14.3.7 The mandatory Public Disclosure required in Rule 14.3.2 shall not be required where the Athlete or other Person who has been found to have committed an anti-doping rule violation is a Minor, Protected Person or Recreational Athlete. Any optional Public Disclosure in a case involving a Minor, Protected Person or Recreational Athlete shall be proportionate to the facts and circumstances of the case.

14.4 Statistical Reporting

The Commission shall publish annually, a general statistical report of its Doping Control activities during the calendar year with a copy provided to WADA.

14.5 Doping Control Information Database and Monitoring of Compliance

To enable WADA to perform its compliance monitoring role and to ensure the effective use of resources and sharing of applicable Doping Control information among Anti-Doping Organisations, the Commission shall report to WADA, through a Doping Control database as developed and managed by WADA, Doping Control-related information, including, in particular,

(a) Athlete Biological Passport data for International-Level Athletes and National- Level Athletes,

(b) Whereabouts information for Athletes including those in Registered Testing Pools,

(c) TUE decisions, and

(d) Results Management decisions,

as required under the applicable International Standard(s).

14.5.1 To facilitate coordinated test distribution planning, avoid unnecessary duplication in Testing by various Anti-Doping Organisations, and to ensure that Athlete Biological Passport profiles are updated, the Commission shall report all In- Competition and Out-of-Competition tests to WADA by entering the Doping Control forms into ADAMS in accordance with the requirements and timelines contained in the International Standard for Testing and Investigations.

14.5.2 To facilitate WADA’s oversight and appeal rights for TUEs, the Commission shall report all TUE applications, decisions and supporting documentation using ADAMS in accordance with the requirements and timelines contained in the International Standard for Therapeutic Use Exemptions.

14.5.3 To facilitate WADA’s oversight and appeal rights for Results Management, the Commission shall report the following information into ADAMS in accordance with the requirements and timelines outlined in the International Standard for Results Management: (a) notifications of anti-doping rule violations and related decisions for Adverse Analytical Findings; (b) notifications and related decisions for other anti-doping rule violations that are not Adverse Analytical Findings; (c) whereabouts failures; and (d) any decision imposing, lifting or reinstating a Provisional Suspension

14.5.4 The information described in Rule 14.5 will be made accessible, where appropriate and in accordance with the applicable rules, to the Athlete, the Athlete’s National Anti-Doping Organisation and International Federation, and any other Anti-Doping Organisations with Testing authority over the Athlete.

14.6 Data Privacy

The Commission may collect, store, process or disclose personal information relating to Athletes and other Persons where necessary and appropriate to conduct their anti-doping activities under these Rules, the Code and International Standards (including specifically the International Standard for the Protection of Privacy and Personal Information), and in compliance with applicable law, including the Privacy Act 2020.

14.7 Confidentiality and Public Disclosure

The Commission may, notwithstanding anything in these Rules, publicise information relating to an alleged anti-doping rule violation or investigation under the Rules where an Athlete or other Person, who it is alleged has committed an anti-doping rule violation under the Rules, or is the subject of an investigation under these Rules, or any party notified under the Rules, has made public comment or comment to any third party concerning the allegation or investigation which, in the Commission’s view, requires that it publicly comments on matters concerning the alleged violation or the investigation under the Rules.

 

Footnotes

^{78 [Comment to Rule 14.1.5: Each Anti-Doping Organisation shall provide, in its own anti-doping rules, procedures for the protection of confidential information and for investigating and disciplining improper disclosure of confidential information by any employee or agent of the Anti-Doping Organisation.]}

^{79 [Comment to Rule 14.3.2: Where Public Disclosure as required by this Rule would result in a breach of other applicable laws, the Anti- Doping Organisation’s failure to make the Public Disclosure will not result in a determination of non-compliance with Code as set forth in Article 4.1 of the International Standard for the Protection of Privacy and Personal Information.]}