Related cases:
- CAS 2019_A_6148 WADA vs Sun Yang & FINA - Annulled Award
February 28, 2020 - CAS 2019_A_6148 WADA vs Sun Yang & FINA - Final Award
June 22, 2021 - FINA 2019 FINA vs Sun Yang
January 3, 2019 - Swiss Federal Court 4A_287_2019 Sun Yang vs WADA & FINA
January 6, 2020 - Swiss Federal Court 4A_413_2019 Sun Yang vs WADA & FINA
October 28, 2019
The Swiss Federal Supreme Court dismisses on 14 February 2021 the appeal filed by Chinese swimmer Sun Yang against the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne. The contested decision (CAS 2019/A/6148), which imposed a ban of four years and three months on Sun Yang from February 2020, does not violate fundamental principles of public order; nor was Sun Yang's right to be heard infringed. The Federal Supreme Court did not enter into the merits of the athlete's further objections.
In its decision of 28 February 2020, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) had imposed an eight-year ban on the Chinese swimmer Sun Yang for violating the doping rules of the International Swimming Federation ("FINA Doping Control Rules", 2017 edition). In December 2020, the Federal Supreme Court upheld Sun Yang's appeal and annulled the CAS decision on the grounds of bias on the part of one of the CAS arbitrators (Federal Supreme Court press release of 15 January 2021 ). On 22 June 2021, the CAS ruled again on the case in a new composition of the arbitration panel and imposed a ban of four years and three months from 28 February 2020 on Sun Yang.
The Federal Supreme Court dismissed Sun Yang's appeal against this decision insofar as it was admissible. Decisions of the CAS cannot be reviewed freely by the Federal Supreme Court. The Court's review of the merits is limited by law to the question of whether the contested CAS decision violates fundamental and widely recognised principles of public order ("ordre public"). The contested decision does not violate public policy. The Federal Supreme Court also rejected Sun Yang's claims that the CAS had violated his right to be heard. The Federal Supreme Court did not consider Sun Yang's objections regarding the timeliness of the appeal filed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) with the CAS in 2019. However, the athlete's objections in this regard would be unfounded in any case. Furthermore, the Federal Supreme Court did not consider the complaint that the Court's limited power of review in appeals against CAS decisions violated the right to an effective remedy within the meaning of Article 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
