The History of Doping

Anti-doping · Strict liability · History · Evolution

In France, the first legislation on doping appeared with Law no. 65-412 of 1 June 1965 (known as the “Mazeaud” Law) and Decree no. 66-373 of 10 June 1966, aimed at punishing the use of stimulants during sporting competitions.

Article 1 of the Mazeaud Law defines doping as the use of “substances”:

“with a view to or in the course of a sporting competition, knowingly using one of the substances determined by public administration regulation, which are intended to artificially and temporarily increase physical possibilities and are likely to be harmful to one’s health.”

Since then, the scope of the law on doping has been broadened, in particular to include “methods”. Article 1 of Law 89-432 of 28 June 1989 provides as follows:

“It is forbidden for any person to use, during sports competitions and events organised or approved by sports federations or with a view to taking part in them, substances and procedures which, by their nature, artificially modify abilities or mask the use of substances or procedures with this property, are determined by joint order of the ministers responsible for sport and health.

Under the same conditions, it is forbidden, without prejudice to the principle of freedom of prescription for therapeutic purposes, to administer the substances defined in the previous paragraph or to apply the processes referred to in that paragraph, to encourage the use of such substances or processes or to facilitate their use.

(...) it is forbidden to administer or apply to animals substances or procedures which, if they are likely to produce the same effects as those defined in paragraph I of this article, are determined by joint order of the ministers responsible for sport, health and agriculture.

It is forbidden to facilitate the administration of such substances or to encourage their administration, or to facilitate the application of such procedures or to encourage their application.”

An objective definition: strict liability

This law establishes an objective definition of doping. The principle of strict liability is confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s case law (CAS 91/A/53; CAS 94/129; CAS 95/141).

Thus, the simple detection of a prohibited substance in a sample taken from an athlete, leading to an abnormal analytical result, constitutes a violation of the anti-doping rules, without there being any need to demonstrate any intention to improve sports performance. Likewise, any athlete is prohibited from (attempting to) use prohibited substances or methods (Articles 2.1 and 2.2 of the World Anti-Doping Code; Articles L.232-9 and R232-41-12-2 of the Sports Code).

In order to facilitate the implementation of anti-doping rules, deemed “necessary” for the protection of the athlete’s right to participate in a sport without doping and the guarantee of a harmonized, coordinated and effective fight against doping, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) establishes a “Prohibited List” in the context of sports practices or competitions. This mandatory international standard is adopted by the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD).

The 2024 Prohibited List and the Olympic Games

The 2024 Olympic Games are no exception to these rules. Decree No. 2023-1334 of December 29, 2023 (JORF No. 0303 of December 30, 2023) modifies Annex I of the International Convention Against Doping in Sport (List of Prohibitions) with a view to promoting the integrity of international competitions. The Prohibited List came into force on January 1, 2024.

The prohibitions apply to the periods specified in the List, namely:

1. Permanently (in competition and out of competition);
2. In competition (unless a different period is approved by WADA for a given sport): the period beginning just before midnight (at 11:59 p.m.) the day before a competition in which the athlete is to participate until the end of the competition and the sample collection process.

Furthermore, the List places specific bans on certain sports. The 2024 Prohibited List adds an in-competition ban on:

• tramadol;
• glucocorticoids administered rectally.

The donation of plasma or plasma compounds by plasmapheresis is no longer prohibited if it is carried out in an approved collection center.

The European standard NF EN 17444 (replacing the French standard NF V 94-001) makes it possible to check whether food supplements contain doping substances.

Athletes’ personal responsibility

It is recalled that athletes will be held personally responsible in the event of a doping control. In this context, the following acts in particular are punishable by sanctions:

• evading, refusing or resisting sample collection without valid justification (Article 2.3 of the World Anti-Doping Code; Article L.232-9-2 of the Sports Code);
• (attempted) falsification of any element of the test (Article 2.5 of the World Anti-Doping Code; Article L.232-10-4 of the Sports Code);
• alteration, influence, intervention, trafficking or illegitimate possession of the elements, methods or results of the test (Articles 2.6 and 2.7 of the World Anti-Doping Code; Articles L.232-10-2 and L.232-10-3 of the Sports Code);
• the sale, donation, transportation, sending, delivery or illegal distribution of prohibited substances or methods, subject to restrictively applicable exceptions (Article 2.8 of the World Anti-Doping Code; Article L.232-10-1 of the Sports Code);
• (attempted) complicity, assistance, incitement, contribution, conspiracy or concealment involving a violation of anti-doping rules (Article 2.10 of the World Anti-Doping Code; Article L.230-5 of the Sports Code).

The applicable sanctions are as follows:

• A violation of anti-doping rules in individual sports in relation to an in-competition test leads “automatically to the cancellation of the result obtained during this competition and to all consequences” (withdrawal of medals, diplomas, points and prizes) (Article 9 of the IOC Anti-Doping Rules).
• A violation of the anti-doping rules during or in connection with the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games “may”, upon decision of the CAS Anti-Doping Division, result in the cancellation of “all individual results obtained by the athlete within the framework of the 2024 JOPs”, as well as the aforementioned consequences, or a suspension from competitions, notwithstanding other measures and sanctions that may be imposed (e.g., exclusion of the athlete, loss of accreditation) (Article 10 of the IOC Anti-Doping Rules).

Useful resources

• World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA): wada-ama.org · Prohibited List
• French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD): afld.fr · sportifs.afld.fr · medicaments.afld.fr
• Ministry of Sports, Olympic and Paralympic Games: Acting against doping
• French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF): cnosf.franceolympique.com
• Medical Doping Prevention Antennas (AMPD): ampd.fr
• National Nutrition Health Program: mangerbouger.fr
• Anti-doping rule violations: AFLD
• Anti-doping control: AFLD · rights and duties
• Strict liability: AFLD
• Therapeutic use exemptions (TUE): AFLD