Abstract
The spirit of any game lies in the athlete performing the sport and the athlete performing the sport shall justify the lawfulness of performing the discipline for which he has trained hard for years. The modern evolution of the Sports law has seen sudden interest because of the increasing awareness about the concept of doping as an illegal act in the contemporary world. Due to the variances in the doping mechanisms with the help of the increasing bio-technology there have been recent developments in the method of detecting it. The lessons that can be learnt from the use of performance enhancing drugs (PED’s) is that it can lead to long term health concerns but short term gain for the athlete. With the increasing cases of doping the regulating mechanisms like the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC), 2004 was enacted but the increasing technology does not find itself in the preventive measure of the Law. The WADA Code is an International Regulation so the enforceability of this law is in question in many countries of the World. In India it finds its existence in the form of National Anti-Doping Act, 2022 (NADA) a very new regulation in India, as India is emerging as a hub for Sports in the entire world. So to maintain the integrity, morality and spirit of the sport such regulation is necessary and this also checks the moral and ethical character of the athletes performing their specific disciplines. This research paper would delve into the enactment of the various laws, rules and regulations in India which will keep the athletes in check and the comparison of such law and regulation with the international standards and how can the law be more developed in the future with the constant change in the medical technology.
Keywords: – Doping, Regulations, Technology, Spirit, World Anti-Doping Code (WADA), National Anti-Doping Act, 2022 (NADA)
Introduction
Modern sports have made progress from the competing personality of the athletes from the past half a century which has led to the establishment of healthy competition. But between these competitions there have been a wave of instances which has led to the questioning of the spirit of the entire sport, also the moral and the ethics of the athletes displaying such acts which are very much against such competing nature. These acts can be coined as heinous in the purview of sports as they lead to unfair competition among the athletes, as some of the athletes use certain drugs called the Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs)[1] which increases the dopamine of the athletes which is an essential element in performing a sport, which in turn increases the stamina of the athletes which enhances the performance henceforth giving an edge over those who have not used such substances to boost their performance. To control and eradicate the illegal use of such substances, certain steps in the form of an International Regulation which convicts the athletes if found using such substances under the World Anti-Doping Code, 2004. This legal framework provides a base guideline to all the signatory nations to draft their own legislations in alignment with their legal system with strict punishments and to spread awareness among the people with regard to doping. These drugs also impact the health of the athletes in the long run as scientific evidence has also stated the same that using PEDs has led to the deterioration of the health of the athletes.
[1]Muneera Ahmed Alkhelaifi, & Maria Alejandra Martinez, Doping in sports and current regulations, https://www.qscience.com/docserver/fulltext/connect/2022/2/connect.2022.spt.1.pdf?expires=1728501181&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=3757AAD0FB3743A47289345BAB1EAA39 (last visited Oct 9, 2024).