Explained | What is WADA and CAS?

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is responsible for ensuring adherence to the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC) globally.

On February 14, the Ad Hoc Division of the Court of Arbitration of Sports (CAS) decided not to impose any provisional ban on Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva from participating in the ongoing Beijing Olympics. She was accused of being in violation of the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC) for taking the banned substance, trimetazidine.

The banned substance was found in the mandatory blood sample provided by her, which led to the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) endowing her a provisional suspension on Feb 8. The ban was overturned a day later. The overturning of the ban was challenged by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Skating Union (ISU) at the CAS.

Established in 1999, WADA is a global, independent anti-doping agency responsible for facilitating education, scientific research, development of anti-doping capacities, and ensuring compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC).

Doping refers to the use of performance enhancing substances by athletes. They include cannabinoids, narcotics, stimulants, hormone and metabolic modulators, among a host of other substances.

It is an agency created and funded half by the Olympic Movement and half by governments from across the world. Europe is its biggest contributor at 47.5%, followed by the Americas, Asia, Oceania and Africa.

WADC is the fundamental and universal document dictating the terms of administration and jurisprudence pertaining to all anti-doping activities. The executive authority for implementation of the code lies with the WADA.

It is the global and supreme authority for all matters pertaining to anti-doping activities in sports. Countries separately constitute what WADA calls the National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADOs), responsible for implementation of the code in their respective countries. India has the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA).