In Finland, it is possible to lodge an appeal on decisions of anti-doping rule violations to two appellate bodies depending, for example, on the level of the athlete. International-level and national-level athletes can lodge an appeal to the international Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) or the Finnish Sports Arbitration Board, respectively.
Finnish Sports Arbitration Board
The Finnish Sports Arbitration Board was established in 1991. The board was established by the central sports organisations of the time, Suomen valtakunnan urheiluliitto (SVUL), Työväen urheiluliitto (TUL), the Football Association of Finland (FAF), Svenska Centralidrottsförbund (CIF) and the Finnish Olympic Committee.
The Finnish Sports Arbitration Board is an appellate body that is independent of sports organisations which, among other things, processes decisions made according to Finland’s Anti-Doping Code on the basis of appeals.
The appellant may be an athlete, another natural person or entity, whose right or legitimate interest is influenced by the case under appeal.
Regarding decisions on anti-doping rule violations, the Finnish Sports Arbitration Board is the primary appellate body if the decision concerns a person who is not an international-level athlete or other persons. The decisions of the Finnish Sports Arbitration Board can be appealed from the Court of Arbitration for Sport according to the requirements specified in the provisions of CAS.
Court of Arbitration for Sport
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is the highest international appellate body in matters related to sports and it is independent of any sports organisations. CAS was established in 1984, and its headquarters are located in Lausanne, Switzerland. CAS has nearly 300 arbitrators who are familiar with the world of sports and the related codes all around the world.
In cases concerning anti-doping rule violations, the purpose of CAS is to act as the highest international sanctioning body. CAS also has a separate anti-doping division (ADD) that can function as the primary body of processing anti-doping rule violations.
In cases arising from participation in an international sports event and in cases involving international-level athletes, an appeal of a related decision may be lodged exclusively to CAS in accordance with its rules.
