International Biathlon Union appoints External Review Commission

The International Biathlon Union (IBU) has appointed an External Review Commission, chaired by leading English lawyer Jonathan Taylor QC, to investigate the historic allegations made against the IBU.

Taylor, who has extensive experience and expertise in leading independent reviews, will be joined on the Commission by Austrian lawyer Dr Christian Dorda, German lawyer Dr Anja Martin and a former biathlete who will be nominated by the IBU Athletes Committee. The Commission will provide and make public a full report to the IBU Executive Board as soon as possible without compromising the integrity of its conclusions and recommendations.

The appointment of the Commission is the latest concrete step taken under newly elected IBU President Olle Dahlin’s leadership to ensure that the IBU operates under the highest standards of good governance and transparency. The IBU has already granted the chair of the Athletes Committee a position on the Executive Board, commissioned a review and re-drafting of its Constitution in line with international best-practice, and adopted an amended Code of Ethics, which includes a whistle-blower policy and the establishment of an independent Ethics Commission.

IBU President Dahlin said:

“We are proud to announce the appointment of such an expert and highly experienced Commission. We have already made excellent progress in putting measures in place that will safeguard our sport and ensure the highest standards of good governance, integrity and transparency.

“We are on the right path; however, we recognise that we have an obligation to our athletes, our fans and all our stakeholders to properly investigate what happened in the past so we can learn from it and ensure it never happens again. We look forward to receiving the Commission’s report and its recommendations. In the meantime, we will continue to work hard to protect our athletes’ right to doping free sport, plan for our future and ensure integrity throughout biathlon.”

The Commission will be entirely independent of the IBU and will be mandated to:

• Review the proposal of the IBU Constitution Working Group and recommend any amendments necessary to ensure the proposal reflects the highest standards of integrity and transparency

• Conduct a full investigation into all anti-doping, compliance, ethical and disciplinary matters as well as any matters arising from the ongoing investigation by WADA and various national and international criminal authorities,

• Cooperate fully with all relevant authorities with jurisdiction over some or all of the matters in question

• Advise the IBU whether any person or member or other body has a case to answer for breach of their obligations to the IBU