European court finds Semenya was denied fair trial rights

THE European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has found that South African Olympian Caster Semenya was denied a fair trial by Switzerland's legal system, marking a significant milestone in her ongoing legal battle against regulations requiring athletes with differences of sex development (DSD) to medically alter their natural hormone levels to compete.

- MANDILAKHE TSHWETE

In a Grand Chamber judgment delivered yesterday, the court ruled by 15 votes to two that the Swiss Federal Supreme Court failed to conduct a sufficiently rigorous review of Semenya's appeal against the 2019 decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which had upheld World Athletics' so-called "DSD Regulations".

These rules compel female athletes with naturally high testosterone levels to undergo hormone suppression therapy to compete in certain events.

The court found that Switzerland had violated Semenya's rights under Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to a fair hearing.

The judges held that the Federal Supreme Court's review of the CAS award was too limited, especially given the fundamental rights at stake, including bodily autonomy and the right to compete in one's natural category.

As a result, Semenya had not benefited from the necessary safeguards required by the Convention.