Russia to set up national sports court to hear disputes regarding doping, says deputy justice minister Denis Novak

Moscow: Russia is setting up a national sports court, a move which would give officials in the country more control over how doping cases are heard. [caption id=“attachment_6332351” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Deputy Justice Minister Denis Novak tells state news agency Tass that a ministry council approved a new tribunal to be founded by the Russian Olympic Committee. Novak says the tribunal will hear “disputes regarding relationships with sports clubs and federations, including individual labor disputes with athletes and coaches, and also disputes related to doping.” Currently, almost all Russian appeals against doping rulings are handled by the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport. In countries with national tribunals, the World Anti-Doping Agency can still file its own subsequent appeals to CAS, usually when it considers punishments too lenient.