Caster Semenya did not get fair hearing in sex eligibility case, human rights court rules
Two-time Olympic champion Caster Semenya has won a partial victory at the European Court of Human Rights.
It was part of her seven-year legal fight against track and field’s eligibility rules.
The court’s 17-judge chamber ruled in a 15-2 vote on Thursday that Semenya had some of her rights to a fair hearing violated at Switzerland’s Supreme Court.
The runner had appealed to the Swiss supreme court against a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in favour of World Athletics.
This revolved around World Athletics’ rules on athletes with higher levels of testosterone competing in women’s races.
However, the European human rights court refused to rule on several other aspects of Semenya’s case.
This included questions over whether she was discriminated against in the Swiss court.
Semenya’s case could now go back to the Swiss federal court.
It will be watched closely by other sports that have passed, or are reviewing, their own rules on eligibility in women’s events.
After the latest ruling, Semenya shared a photo of herself on social media from within the court chamber.
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“Today, my patience in this journey has been rewarded with a result that will pave the way for all athletes’ human rights to be protected,” she said in a statement.
Semenya v World Athletics
The original case between Semenya and World Athletics was about whether athletes like herself, who have specific medical conditions, a typical male chromosone pattern and naturally high testosterone levels, should be allowed to compete in women’s sports.
The latest ruling does not overturn the World Athletics rules that effectively ended Semenya’s middle-distance running career.
She has won two Olympic and three world titles since emerging in 2009.
Judges also awarded Semenya €80,000 (£68,904) from the state of Switzerland “in respect of costs and expenses”.
Swiss court criticism
The key legal point of Semenya’s win was that the Swiss court was said to have not carried out a “rigorous judicial review”.
This was because, Strasbourg judges ruled, Semenya had no choice but to pursue her case through the CAS’s “mandatory and exclusive jurisdiction”.
World Athletics claims its rules maintain fairness because Semenya has an unfair advantage from her higher testosterone.
Semenya argues that it is simply a genetic gift.