DN Court ratifies annulment of COD suspensions to sports federations

Court of Appeals Confirms Nullity of Suspensions Imposed by the COD on Sports Federations

The First Chamber of the Civil and Commercial Chamber of the Court of Appeals of the National District has upheld the ruling that annuls the suspensions imposed by the Dominican Olympic Committee (COD) on several sports federations. The affected federations are those of Fencing, Modern Pentathlon, Surfing, Shooting and Badminton.

The sports organization saw its appeal rejected, upholding the initial decision issued in April of last year by Judge Raquel Astacio Mercedes, of the Fourth Chamber of the Civil and Commercial Court of First Instance of the National District.

We are celebrating. We receive this ruling with humility, but with approval because justice has been served.

Dr. Ronald Santana, legal representative of the plaintiff federations

In addition to confirming the nullity of the suspensions, the Court of Appeals ordered the Dominican Olympic Committee to pay compensation for damages to the affected federations. This compensation covers the consequences arising from the irregular suspension of their activities and funding. According to Dr. Santana, just for the concept of unreceived subsidies since July 2023, the amount could reach about 200 million pesos. Added to this are the resources needed for the preparation of the athletes for the XXV Central American and Caribbean Sports Games, which will be held in the country from July 23 to August 8. The sentence also includes the COD’s condemnation to pay the procedural costs, which were set in favor of Dr. Ronald Santana, lawyer for the plaintiff federations. For the jurist, this decision sets an important precedent in sports governance, reaffirming the obligation of governing bodies to act in accordance with the law and due process when imposing disciplinary sanctions.

This is just a reiteration of what the fulfillment of justice should be. We expected nothing less, because it is absurd to think of sanctions applied without any kind of criteria or support.

Luis Ciprián, president of the Dominican Fencing Federation

With this ruling, the affected federations formally regain their rights, while the Dominican Olympic Committee must abide by the decision of the Court of Appeals of the National District.