BOA successfully defends injunction application by Dwain Chambers
18 Jul 08
David Pannick QC and Adam Lewis have represented the British Olympic Association in its successful defence of an injunction application brought by Dwain Chambers.
Under the BOA rules, Dwain Chambers received a lifetime ban from competing for Great Britain in the Olympic Games because he had previously tested positive for a banned substance (THG).
Mr Chambers wanted to compete at next month’s Beijing Olympics and so he sought an injunction to prevent the BOA from applying the ban. Mr Chambers contended that the ban is an unfair restraint of trade, arbitrary and in breach of competition law.
Refusing his application, Mr Justice Mackay said that Mr Chambers did not have a strong argument on the merits, the balance of convenience was strongly against the application since he was seeking to displace the status quo and exclude another athlete, and his application should also fail because it was made after considerable delay.
The application was heard on Thursday 17 July. Judgment was given on 18 July.