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South African Human Rights Commission granted permission to intervene in Semenya v Switzerland

03/09/21

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has been granted permission to intervene in the case of Semenya v Switzerland (Application no. 10934/21).

Ms Semenya is a South African middle-distance runner and winner of two Olympic gold medals (London, 2012 and Rio, 2016) and three world championships (Berlin, 2009; Daegu, 2011; and London, 2017).

Ms Semenya filed a request for arbitration before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against regulations made by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in 2018, which required her to undergo hormonal treatment in order to compete in the Women’s category (the Regulations). She subsequently filed a civil action with the Swiss Federal Court in connection with the CAS’ decision to uphold the Regulations.

Before the ECHR, Ms Semenya complains of violations of Articles 3 and 8 taken individually, as well as combined with article 14, and violations of articles 6 and 13 of the Convention.

Jeremy Gauntlett SC QC, Zahra Al-Rikabi, Jennifer MacLeod and Emma Mockford act for SAHRC, instructed by Baker McKenzie in Johannesburg and Paris.

Marie Demetriou QC was instructed by Ms Semenya as an expert witness to provide an opinion on EU human rights law.