Latest news with #SwissFederalCourt
The Independent
10-07-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Athlete Caster Semenya wins human rights fight over sex eligibility
The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that track and field athlete Caster Semenya 's right to a fair hearing was violated by the Swiss judicial system. Semenya has been unable to compete in the 800-metre event since 2019 due to World Athletics ' rules on testosterone levels for female athletes, as she naturally produces higher levels. The 34-year-old was unsuccessful in challenging the rules at the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the Swiss federal court. The ECHR's judges found by a 15 to two majority that the Swiss courts had "fallen short" in providing a sufficiently rigorous judicial review of her complaint. The ruling means the case should now return to the Swiss federal court. World Athletics, not a party to the ECHR proceedings, maintains its rules are necessary for fair competition and has recently introduced stricter biological sex tests for female categories.
The Independent
10-07-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Caster Semenya's right to a fair hearing was violated, ECHR rules
Track and field athlete Caster Semenya's right to a fair hearing was violated by the Swiss judicial system, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled. The 34-year-old has been unable to compete in her favoured 800 metres event since 2019, following the introduction of limits on testosterone levels for female athletes by World Athletics. Semenya was legally identified as female at birth but has a condition which means her body naturally produces higher levels of testosterone than women without the condition. She was unsuccessful in challenging World Athletics' rules at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and the Swiss federal court, but in July 2023 a lower chamber of the ECHR found her rights had been violated by the Swiss government because it had failed to provide sufficient safeguards for her complaint to be examined effectively. The Swiss government referred the case to the ECHR's Grand Chamber in November 2023 and on Thursday morning, it was announced its judges had found by a 15 to two majority that Semenya's rights under Article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights – the right to a fair hearing – had been violated. A press release issued by the court said the judges had found the Swiss courts had 'fallen short' in providing what they felt should have been a 'rigorous judicial review that was commensurate with the seriousness of the personal rights at issue'. The ECHR ruling, which cannot be appealed, should mean the case returns to the Swiss federal court. The Grand Chamber ruled by a majority of 13 to four that complaints under Article 8 (right to respect for private life), Article 13 (right to an effective remedy) and Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) were inadmissible. It found Semenya did not fall within Switzerland's jurisdiction in respect of those complaints. Seema Patel, an associate professor specialising in sports law at the Nottingham Law School, had said prior to the Semenya decision being handed down that it would be a 'pivotal moment for how sport engages with human rights in its rule making'.
The National
25-03-2025
- Politics
- The National
Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini cleared in long-running football corruption case
Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter and ex-Uefa chief Michel Platini were on Tuesday acquitted by a Swiss court in a long-running corruption case that shattered their careers as two of the most powerful figures in world football. Blatter, 89, and Platini, 69, listened in silence as the Extraordinary Court of Appeal clerk in Muttenz read out a decision identical to the one handed down in 2022, which had initially cleared them. Prosectors had requested suspended sentences of 20 months for the pair, but charges of fraud, for which they risked five years' imprisonment, as well as disloyal management, breach of trust and forgery of documents were all dismissed. After almost 10 years of legal proceedings, a final appeal is still possible before the Swiss Federal Court, but only on limited legal grounds. "The relentless pursuit from Fifa and some Swiss federal prosecutors is now over," Platini told reporters. "Today my honour is restored, and I'm very happy." Platini, a former France captain and manager, said he felt "from the start" that the purpose of the affair was to prevent him "from being president of Fifa". "I know that for my enemies, it was time that was important... They kept me out for 10 years," continued Platini, whose downfall cleared the way for the election of Gianni Infantino in early 2016 as Fifa president. Blatter and Platini returned to court earlier this month on charges stemming from a delayed payment of two million Swiss francs ($2.06 million) Fifa made to Platini in 2011 for consultancy services. "After two acquittals, the federal prosecutor's office must also admit that this criminal procedure has definitively failed. Michel Platini must finally be left alone in criminal matters," said Dominic Nellen, Platini's lawyer. The case began in 2015 when Blatter quit as head of Fifa in a corruption crisis. Blatter and Platini were initially acquitted by the Swiss Federal Court in June 2022, but the Swiss Attorney General's office immediately appealed that verdict. The defence and prosecution agreed that Platini did advise Blatter between 1998 and 2002, during the Swiss administrator's first term at the head of FIFA, and that in 1999 the two men signed a contract agreeing an annual remuneration of 300,000 Swiss francs, to be "paid in full by Fifa". Blatter and Platini said that at the start they agreed orally, and without witnesses, on an annual salary of one million Swiss francs, but Fifa's financial state did not allow for immediate payment. Blatter called it a "gentlemen's agreement". Prosecutor Thomas Hildbrand said the argument was implausible. Even if Fifa had transferred one million Swiss francs to Platini in 1999, it would still have had "more than 21 million francs in cash", and its reserves had reached 328 million in 2002. To agree such a sum without a written record, without witnesses and without ever making provision for it in the accounts was, he said, "contrary to commercial practice" as well as to Fifa's norms. In January 2011, "more than eight years after the end of his activity as advisor", Platini "claimed a debt of two million Swiss francs", which Fifa paid. Prosecutors argued that this was an "unfounded" payment, obtained by "cleverly misleading" FIFA's internal controls through false statements made by the two executives. At the time, Blatter was running for re-election as Fifa president and Platini had become head of European football. Platini backed Blatter in his successful bid for a fourth term in charge of Fifa.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Blatter and Platini cleared in FIFA graft case
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and ex-UEFA chief Michel Platini on Tuesday were acquitted on appeal by a Swiss court in a long-running corruption case that shattered their careers as two of the most powerful figures in world football. Blatter, 89, and Platini, 69, listened in silence as the Extraordinary Court of Appeal clerk in Muttenz read out a decision identical to the one handed down in 2022, which had initially cleared them. Prosectors had requested suspended sentences of 20 months for the pair, but charges of fraud, for which they risked five years' imprisonment, as well as disloyal management, breach of trust and forgery of documents were all dismissed. After almost 10 years of legal proceedings, a final appeal is still possible before the Swiss Federal Court, but only on limited legal grounds. "The relentless pursuit from FIFA and some Swiss federal prosecutors is now over," Platini told reporters. "Today my honour is restored, and I'm very happy." Platini, a former France captain and manager, said he felt "from the start" that the purpose of the affair was to prevent him "from being president of FIFA". "I know that for my enemies, it was time that was important... They kept me out for 10 years," continued Platini, whose downfall cleared the way for the election in early 2016 of Gianni Infantino as FIFA boss. Blatter and Platini returned to court earlier this month on charges stemming from a delayed payment of two million Swiss francs (1.8 million euros) FIFA made to Platini in 2011 for consultancy services. "After two acquittals, the federal prosecutor's office must also admit that this criminal procedure has definitively failed. Michel Platini must finally be left alone in criminal matters," said Dominic Nellen, Platini's lawyer. - 'Gentlemen's agreement' - The case began in 2015 when Blatter quit as head of FIFA in a corruption crisis. Blatter and Platini were initially acquitted by the Swiss Federal Court in June 2022, but the Swiss Attorney General's office immediately appealed that verdict. The defence and prosecution agreed that Platini did advise Blatter between 1998 and 2002, during the Swiss administrator's first term at the head of FIFA, and that in 1999 the two men signed a contract agreeing an annual remuneration of 300,000 Swiss francs, to be "paid in full by FIFA". Blatter and Platini said that at the start they agreed orally, and without witnesses, on an annual salary of one million Swiss francs, but FIFA's financial state did not allow for immediate payment. Blatter called it a "gentlemen's agreement". Prosecutor Thomas Hildbrand said the argument was implausible. Even if FIFA had transferred one million Swiss francs to Platini in 1999, it would still have had "more than 21 million francs in cash", and its reserves had reached 328 million in 2002. To agree such a sum without a written record, without witnesses and without ever making provision for it in the accounts was, he said, "contrary to commercial practice" as well as to FIFA's norms. In January 2011, "more than eight years after the end of his activity as advisor", Platini "claimed a debt of two million Swiss francs", which FIFA paid. Prosecutors argued that this was an "unfounded" payment, obtained by "cleverly misleading" FIFA's internal controls through false statements made by the two executives. At the time, Blatter was running for re-election as FIFA president and Platini had become head of European football. Platini backed Blatter in his successful bid for a fourth term in charge of FIFA. cfe/mw/jc
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Swiss appeals court acquits Blatter and Platini in graft case
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and ex-UEFA chief Michel Platini on Tuesday were acquitted again on appeal by a Swiss court in a long-running corruption case. As in the first instance, when the pair were acquitted in 2022, the extraordinary appeals court in Muttenz near Basel did not follow the recommendations of prosecutors who had requested suspended sentences of 20 months. After almost 10 years of proceedings, a final appeal is still possible before the Swiss Federal Court, but only on limited legal grounds. Blatter, 89, and Platini, 69, again appeared in court on charges stemming from a delayed payment of two million Swiss francs (1.8 million euros) FIFA made to Platini in 2011 for consultancy services. The legal saga shattered the careers of Blatter and former France captain and manager Platini, once among the most powerful figures in world football. "After two acquittals, the federal prosecutor's office must also admit that this criminal procedure has definitively failed. Michel Platini must finally be left alone in criminal matters," said Dominic Nellen, Platini's lawyer. The case began in 2015 when Blatter quit as head of FIFA in a corruption crisis. They were initially acquitted by the Swiss Federal Court in June 2022 of charges that included "disloyal management", "breach of trust" and "forgery of securities". However, the Swiss Attorney General's office immediately appealed that verdict. The defence and prosecution agreed that Platini did advise Blatter between 1998 and 2002, during the Swiss administrator's first term at the head of FIFA, and that in 1999 the two men signed a contract agreeing an annual remuneration of 300,000 Swiss francs, to be "paid in full by FIFA". Blatter and Platini said that at the start they agreed orally, and without witnesses, on an annual salary of one million Swiss francs, but FIFA's financial state did not allow for immediate payment. In January 2011, "more than eight years after the end of his activity as advisor", Platini "claimed a debt of two million Swiss francs", which FIFA paid. At the time, Blatter was running for re-election as FIFA president and Platini had become head of European football. Prosecutors argued that this was an "unfounded" payment, obtained by "cleverly misleading" FIFA's internal controls through false statements made by the two executives -- the key criterion in the fraud. cfe/mw/jc
