Book D – D5.
DISPUTES AND DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS RULES
(Approved by Council on 31 July 2024, effective immediately)
Book D – D5.2
Book D – D5.2
Specific Definitions
The words and phrases used in these DPP Rules that are defined terms (denoted by initial
capital letters) shall have the meanings specified in the Constitution and the General
Definitions, or (in respect of the following words and phrases) the following meanings:
“Disciplinary Officer” means the member of Staff appointed by the Chief Executive Officer
from time to time to act as the disciplinary officer (or their equivalent) for World Athletics
including any person deputising for that individual."
‘’DPP Rules’’ means these Disputes and Disciplinary Proceedings Rules.
“Former Integrity Rules” means the former versions of the Integrity Code of Conduct and
any former code of ethics of World Athletics in force at the time.
"Jury of Appeal" means the Jury of Appeal as described in Rule 12 of the Competition Rules.
“Procedural Rules of the Integrity Code of Conduct” means rules setting out the
procedures for dealing with alleged violations of the Integrity Code of Conduct (and the Former
Integrity Rules) including reporting, investigating, prosecuting and deciding such violations
and includes the Integrity Unit Rules, the Reporting, Investigations and Prosecution Rules –
Non-Doping, the Disciplinary and Appeals Tribunal Rules and the Anti-Doping Rules.
"Referee" means a Referee as described in Rule 18 of the Competition Rules.
"Technical Delegate" means a Technical Delegate as described in Rule 5 of the Competition
Rules.
World Athletics Disputes and Disciplinary Proceedings Rules Approved by Council 31 July 2024, effective immediately 1
Book D – D5.2
1. General
1.1 Unless as otherwise stated in Rule 1.4 or in any other Rule or Regulation, all breaches
of the Rules and Regulations and all disputes arising under any Rules or Regulations
shall be resolved, and all disciplinary proceedings conducted, in accordance with the
provisions set out in these DPP Rules.
1.2 Subject to Rule 1.4 below, these DPP Rules apply to any Person participating in
(whether as an Athlete or Athlete Support Personnel) or officiating at a World Rankings
Competition.
1.3 These DPP Rules also apply to any matter referred by the Head of the Integrity Unit to
the Disciplinary Officer to deal with as a minor violation of the Integrity Code of Conduct
pursuant to Rule 7 of the Reporting, Investigation and Prosecution Rules – Non-
Doping.
1.4 The following matters are excluded from these DPP Rules:
any alleged breach of, or disputes arising out of decisions made under, the
Anti-Doping Rules including, without limitation, disputes arising out of any
anti-doping rule violations. These disputes shall be resolved in accordance
with the procedures set out in the Anti-Doping Rules;
any alleged breach or violation of the Integrity Code of Conduct (or any of
the Former Integrity Rules) shall be resolved in accordance with the
Procedural Rules of the Integrity Code of Conduct;
any Safeguarding Concern as defined in the Safeguarding Rules shall be
dealt with in accordance with procedures set out in the Safeguarding Rules;
any protests made on-site but prior to the competition starting concerning
the status of an athlete to participate in the competition. Pursuant to Rule
8.1 of the Technical Rules, the decision of the Technical Delegate(s) in such
cases shall be subject to a right of appeal to the Jury of Appeal. The decision
of the Jury of Appeal (or of the Technical Delegate(s) in the absence of a
Jury of Appeal or if no appeal to the Jury is made) shall be final and there
shall be no further right of appeal, including to CAS. If the matter cannot be
resolved satisfactorily before the competition and the athlete is allowed to
compete “under protest”, the matter shall be referred to the Council whose
decision shall be final and there shall be no further right of appeal, including
to CAS;
any protests or other disputes arising out of the field of play during a
competition, including, without limitation, protests concerning the result or
conduct of an event. Pursuant to Rule 8.3 of the Technical Rules, the
decision of the Referee in such cases shall be subject to a right of appeal to
the Jury of Appeal. The decision of the Jury of Appeal (or of the Referee in
the absence of a Jury of Appeal or if no appeal to the Jury is made) shall be
final and there shall be no further right of appeal, including to CAS. For the
avoidance doubt, any matters concerning the conduct of any Person arising
out of, in connection with or on the field of play at a World Rankings
Competition which is reported to or identified by the Disciplinary Officer shall
be dealt with in accordance with the procedures set out in these DPP Rules;
2 World Athletics Disputes and Disciplinary Proceedings Rules. Approved by Council 31 July 2024, effective immediately
Book D – D5.2
any alleged breach of, or disputes arising out of decisions made under the
Member Federation or the Area Association Rules (as the case may be) or
as a result of decisions taken in relation to a Member Federation or an Area
Association pursuant to powers set out in Member Federation or Area
Association Rules and/or the Constitution;
any alleged breach of, or disputes arising out of decisions made under the;
a. Vetting Rules;
b. Candidacy Rules;
c. Mechanical Aids Regulations;
d. Transfer of Allegiance Regulations;
e. Eligibility Regulations for Transgender Athletes (other than those
breaches specifically referred to the Disciplinary Officer);
f. Eligibility Regulations for the Female Classification (other than those
breaches specifically referred to the Disciplinary Officer);
g. Athletes’ Representatives Rules;
h. Marketing and Advertising Regulations;
i. Event Bidding Rules.
2. Disciplinary Officer
2.1 World Athletics shall appoint a Disciplinary Officer in accordance with, and to carry out
the roles and responsibilities identified in these DPP Rules and any other Rules and
Regulations.
2.2 The roles and responsibilities of the Disciplinary Officer shall include:
assessing and investigating matters as set out in these DPP Rules;
imposing sanctions in accordance with Rules 3 and 4 of these DPP Rules;
responding to any appeals made by an individual in accordance with these
DPP Rules; and
carrying out such other matters for the purposes of these DPP Rules.
3. Breaches of Rules or Regulations
3.1 Any information relating to an alleged breach of the Rules or Regulations (other than
those set out in Rule 1.4 above) or any information relating to or an allegation of
unsporting conduct, wrongdoing that was known or ought to have been known or
conduct that is against the spirit of the sport of Athletics at a World Rankings
Competition must be reported to the Disciplinary Officer as soon as reasonably
practical.
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Book D – D5.2
3.2 The Disciplinary Officer must promptly conduct an initial assessment of the information
provided in order to determine if the alleged breach falls within these DPP Rules and/or
within the Integrity Code of Conduct.
3.3 Following the initial assessment the Disciplinary Officer will:
refer the matter to the Head of the Integrity Unit if there is a potential breach
of the Integrity Code of Conduct;
review if the matter should be referred to the relevant Member Federation to
investigate and deal with; or
conduct an investigation of the alleged breach.
3.4 The Disciplinary Officer may conduct the investigation themselves or appoint someone
else to investigate the matter.
3.5 All those contacted by the Disciplinary Officer as part of any investigation are required
to cooperate with the Disciplinary Officer’s investigation.
3.6 If at any point during the investigation, it becomes apparent that the alleged breach is
a potential breach of the Integrity Code of Conduct, the Disciplinary Officer’s
investigation shall be paused and the Disciplinary Officer shall report the matter to the
Head the Integrity Unit in accordance with the Reporting, Investigation and Prosecution
Rules – Non-Doping to investigate as a potential breach of the Integrity Code of
Conduct.
3.7 If the matter is referred to a Member Federation under Rule 3.3.2 above, the Member
Federation must investigate and deal with the matter appropriately. The Member
Federation must keep the Disciplinary Officer fully informed of the progress of the
investigation and its proposals to resolve the case. The Disciplinary Officer may decide
at any time that the matter should be referred back to the Disciplinary Officer to deal
with under these DPP Rules.
3.8 On completion of the investigation, the Disciplinary Officer must provide the findings to
the individual who is the subject of the investigation to consider and give the individual
an opportunity to provide their own representations. In addition, the Disciplinary Officer
must set out and explain any proposed sanction.
3.9 The individual shall have fourteen (14) days to reply to this notification and to provide
any written material or other documentary evidence that they wish the Disciplinary
Officer to take into account in considering whether or not to impose any proposed
sanction.
3.10 Following the receipt of the reply and/or other written material from the individual, or
the expiry of the fourteen (14) day period if no reply is received, the Disciplinary Officer
may:
finalise their investigation and decide that no further action is currently
required as there are no longer grounds for any sanction;
make any such further inquiries as the Disciplinary Officer considers
appropriate in the light of any matters raised by the individual in response to
the written notification; or
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Book D – D5.2
finalise their investigation and decide to impose the proposed sanction.
4. Sanctions
4.1 The Disciplinary Officer has the right to impose a range of sanctions including but not
limited to:
annulling any results;
issuing a caution or reprimand, or an oral or written warning;
imposing a fine;
disqualifying an Athlete and declaring an Athlete’s performance was invalid
with all resulting consequences for the Athlete, including the forfeiture of all
titles, awards, medals, points and prize and appearance money;
order specific education or training;
such other sanctions as may be specified in any Rules or Regulations;
such other sanction as may be appropriate in the circumstances.
4.2 Nothing in these DPP Rules limits or prejudices the right of the Integrity Unit to take
action in respect of the same conduct under the Integrity Code of Conduct and to
impose sanctions for such conduct beyond those set out in this Rule 4 including,
without limitation, a period of ineligibility.
5. Appeals
5.1 The individual who has been sanctioned by the Disciplinary Officer may only appeal
such decision to the Disciplinary and Appeals Tribunal on the grounds that:
the Disciplinary Officer came to a decision which has no reasonable basis in
all the circumstances; or
the sanction imposed was so excessive to be unreasonable.
5.2 To bring an appeal under these DPP Rules, the individual must give notice of the
appeal in writing to the Disciplinary and Appeals Tribunal copying the Disciplinary
Officer within fourteen (14) days of notification of the sanction in accordance with the
Disciplinary and Appeals Tribunal Rules.
5.3 The appeal shall be conducted in accordance with the Disciplinary and Appeals
Tribunal Rules and any decision of the Appeal Panel shall be final and binding on the
parties and there shall be no further right of appeal.
6. Publication
6.1 World Athletics may, if it is deemed appropriate, announce, publish or otherwise
communicate the reasons for any sanction imposed by the Disciplinary Officer and/or
the Appeal Panel pursuant to these DPP Rules.
World Athletics Disputes and Disciplinary Proceedings Rules Approved by Council 31 July 2024, effective immediately 5
