CAS 2018/A/5866 Madisyn Cox v. Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA), consent award of 31 August 2018
Related case:
FINA 2018 FINA vs Madisyn Cox
August 10, 2018
- Aquatics (swimming)
- Doping (trimetazidine)
- Ratification and incorporation of a settlement agreement in a consent award
- Verification of the bona fide nature of the settlement agreement
1. Under Swiss Law, an arbitration tribunal has authority to issue an award embodying the terms of the parties’ settlement if the contesting parties agree to a termination of their dispute in this manner. The arbitration tribunal’s ratification of their settlement and its incorporation into a consent award serves the purpose of enabling the enforcement of their agreement. Moreover, in accordance with Article R56 of the CAS Code, any settlement agreement may be embodied in an arbitral award rendered by consent of the parties.
2. It is the task of the arbitration tribunal to verify the bona fide nature of the Settlement Agreement to ensure that the will of the parties has not been manipulated by them to commit fraud and to confirm that the terms of the Settlement Agreement are not contrary to public policy principles or mandatory rules of the law applicable to the dispute.
On 10 August 2018 the FINA Doping Panel decided to impose a 2 year period of ineligibility on the American swimmer Madisyn Cox after she tested positive for the prohibited substance Trimetazidine. Here the Panel accepted that the violation was admitted and not intentional for imposing a reduced sanction. Further the Panel concluded that the Athlete failed to establish how the substance entered her system.
Hereafter the Athlete requested FINA and USADA to test her supplements in an effort to eliminate the possibility that any of these supplements were the source of the positive test. Analysis of her supplements in the Salt Lake City Lab revealed that the Cooper Complete Elite multivitamine contained the prohibited substance Trimetazidine. The Athlete had used this product for 7 years without incident and she had mentioned this product on her Doping Control Form.
On 15 August 2018 the Athlete filed an appeal against the FINA decision of 10 August 2018 with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
On 23 August 2018, the Athlete and FINA informed the CAS Court Office that they had settled their dispute and that in doing so, they requested that the CAS appoint a Sole Arbitrator to enter a Consent Award confirming the terms of the Parties' Settlement Agreement.
After reviewing the terms of the Settlement Agreement, the Sole Arbitrator finds no grounds to object or to disapprove of the terms of the Settlement Agreement and is satisfied that the Settlement Agreement constitutes a bona fide settlement of the dispute brought to her attention, with the exception of a correction as to the date of commencement of the suspension on 3 March 2018 being the date she last competed and not the date of the sample collection.
Therefore the Court of Arbitration for Sport decides on 31 August 2018 the following:
1.) The Sole Arbitrator, with the consent of Madisyn Cox and Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA), hereby ratifies the Settlement Agreement executed by the Parties on 21/22 August 2018 and incorporates its terms into this consent arbitral award.
2.) Paragraph 1 of the Decision of the FINA Doping Panel dated 10 August 2018 is amended so that:
(a) The presence of trimetazidine in the Athlete's sample constitutes an anti-doping rule violation,
(b) The Athlete shall be sanctioned with a period of ineligibility of 6 months in respect of the anti-doping rule violation, commencing on 3 March 2018, the date she last competed, and ending on 2 September 2018.
3.) Each party is hereby ordered to perform the obligations and duties as per the Settlement Agreement executed by the Parties on 21/22 August 2018.
4.) The award is pronounced without costs, except for the Court Office fee of CHF 1000 (one thousand Swiss Francs) paid by Madisyn Cox, which is retained by the CAS.
5.) Each party shall bear its own legal costs and expenses.
6.) All other requests or prayers for relief are rejected.
