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International Arbitration Forum

International Skating Union (ISU) v. Laura Barquero Jimenez

Case summary

At a glance

Parties
International Skating Union (ISU) v. Laura Barquero Jimenez (Spain)
Case no.
CAS 2022/ADD/48
Forum and rules
Court of Arbitration for Sport, Anti-Doping Division (first instance); CAS ADD Arbitration Rules; IOC Anti-Doping Rules for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022
Tribunal
Raphaëlle Favre Schnyder (Sole Arbitrator)
Sector
Sport: figure skating (pairs); doping
Outcome
Consent award of 6 September 2022 ratifying the parties' Case Resolution Agreement: anti-doping rule violation found, one year of ineligibility from 22 February 2022 to 21 February 2023.
Amount
No costs, except the ADD Court Office fee of CHF 1,000 paid by the IOC, which the ADD retains. Under the settlement each party bears its own costs.

The dispute

Laura Barquero Jimenez is a Spanish pairs skater. She competed at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games with her partner Marco Zandron and finished 11th. Her in-competition urine sample of 18 February 2022 contained a clostebol metabolite, and the B-sample confirmed it. Clostebol is a non-specified anabolic androgenic steroid under S1(1) of the 2022 WADA Prohibited List. The ISU imposed a provisional suspension on 22 February 2022. The ITA, acting for the IOC, filed the case with the CAS Anti-Doping Division, and the ISU joined. The Athlete did not dispute the violation. She argued that the sample was contaminated: a surface she had touched carried residue from a clostebol cream (Trofodermin) that she had not used. On that basis she sought a finding of no fault or negligence, or of no significant fault. The IOC left the proceedings after a partial award on the violation. The ISU and the Athlete then settled the consequences.

Key holdings

  1. CAS ADD has jurisdiction under the IOC Anti-Doping Rules for Beijing 2022 (Article 8.1) and Rules A1–A2 of the CAS ADD Arbitration Rules. The parties also confirmed jurisdiction by signing the Order of Procedure. ¶¶ 29–34
  2. Under Swiss law, an arbitral tribunal may issue an award embodying the parties' settlement if they agree to end their dispute that way. Ratifying the settlement in a consent award makes it enforceable. ¶ 37
  3. The arbitrator must check that the settlement is made in good faith, is not a device for fraud, and is not contrary to public policy or to mandatory rules. The Sole Arbitrator found the agreement to be a good-faith settlement. She found that the agreed sanction did not appear to breach the ISU Anti-Doping Rules or the World Anti-Doping Code. ¶¶ 38–39
  4. In the agreement, the ISU accepted that the violation was not intentional (art. 10.2.1.1 ISU ADR), so the base period of ineligibility was two years. It rejected 'no fault or negligence', because the Athlete had kept the cream for a long time without checking what it contained. It also found this was a contaminated-surface case, not a contaminated-product case. It accepted 'no significant fault or negligence' under art. 10.6.2 at the lowest level of fault, which reduced the period to one year. ¶ 35
  5. Operative part: the Athlete committed an anti-doping rule violation under Article 2.1 and/or 2.2 of the IOC ADR. She is ineligible for one year from 22 February 2022, with the provisional suspension credited, ending on 21 February 2023. The award is made without costs, except the CHF 1,000 Court Office fee paid by the IOC. Operative part

Procedural history

  1. 18 February 2022In-competition doping control at Beijing 2022. On 20 February the Beijing laboratory reports an adverse analytical finding (AAF) for a clostebol metabolite.
  2. 22 February 2022The ISU imposes a provisional suspension. The Athlete requests analysis of the B-sample.
  3. 3 March 2022The B-sample confirms the AAF. The ITA issues a Notice of Charge on 9 March 2022.
  4. 13 June 2022The IOC (through the ITA) files its application with CAS ADD. The ISU says on 17 June 2022 that it will join.
  5. 25 July 2022Raphaëlle Favre Schnyder is appointed Sole Arbitrator.
  6. 10 August 2022Partial award: anti-doping rule violation found. The IOC's participation ends.
  7. 24 August 2022The ISU and the Athlete sign the Case Resolution Agreement.
  8. 6 September 2022Consent award ratifies the settlement: one year of ineligibility.

Tribunal, counsel and experts

Decided by
  • Raphaëlle Favre Schnyder Sole arbitrator, CAS Anti-Doping Division — appointed by the institution (appointed on behalf of the Division President)
Experts
Alberto Salamone (respondent)

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Keywords

Summary generated with AI from the published documents — refer to the award for the authoritative text.

Case ID
CAS 2022/ADD/48
Claimant
International Skating Union (ISU)
Respondent
Laura Barquero Jimenez
Documents

Procedure: Anti-Doping Division
Sport: Skating
Matter: Doping
Panel: Raphaëlle Favre Schnyder
Source: Court of Arbitration for Sport case database.