The Tennis Integrity Supervisory Board (TISB) has approved the expansion of the independent panel of senior legal experts appointed to adjudicate anti-corruption disciplinary Hearings for professional tennis.
At its August meeting, the TISB unanimously agreed to re-appoint the four Anti-Corruption Hearing Officers (AHO) who between them have overseen more than 100 disciplinary Hearings based on Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) investigations, since 2009.
Originally appointed by the Tennis Integrity Board, which preceded the establishment of the TISB, the current panel of distinguished members comprises:
Professor Richard H. McLaren OC, Toronto, Canada
Jane Mulcahy QC, London, England
Ian Mill QC, London, England
Charles Hollander QC, London, England
Jennie Price CBE, the independent Chair of the TISB, commented: “Tennis has been extremely well served by the panel of Hearing Officers who have worked with the sport since the inception of the TIU. The Board was unanimous in its decision to ask each of them to continue in their role and we are delighted that all have accepted.”
In order to plan for and manage future expectations of an increasing number of disciplinary Hearings, the TISB has also supplemented the existing panel with three new members. They are:
Raj Parker, Matrix Chambers, London: Raj has more than 30 years’ legal experience and extensive involvement in sports law. His work includes roles as Deputy Chair of the Premier League Judicial Panel; Vice President of the Basketball Arbitration Tribunal; London Member of Sport Resolutions' Panel of Arbitrators and Mediators; Member of the IAAF Disciplinary Tribunal; Member of the FA Judicial Panel. He is also widely experienced as a panellist for the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Janie Soublière, Montréal, Canada: Janie, an attorney-at-law, has been working in sport law for over 20 years and currently acts as Legal Counsel and Consultant in anti-doping and as an investigator in sport-related allegations. She actively sits on numerous sport dispute resolution panels including the Court of Arbitration for Sport, World Athletics Disciplinary Tribunal, Sport Resolutions, the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada and Ultimate Fighting Championship. In the mid-1990s she earned an NCAA Div. 1 Tennis Scholarship to Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, USA.
Amani Khalifa, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Dubai, UAE: Amani is an arbitration specialist and member of Freshfields’ dispute resolution group. In the sports practice she sits on the Basketball Arbitration Tribunal, where she has presided as sole arbitrator in more than 40 cases. As a former professional tennis player she recorded career-high WTA rankings of 534 in doubles and 707 in singles, both in 2003.
Each of the new appointments is a highly regarded legal practitioner, bringing proven and relevant skills and independent expertise to the AHO role.
“The Board was conscious of the need to bring additional talent to the established and highly-regarded group of original AHOs,” explained Jennie Price. “We know from our close involvement with a number of law enforcement investigations in Europe that we are likely to see an increased number of disciplinary Hearings from next year. These new panellists will help to manage that extra workload in the most effective fashion.
“By adding to the diversity and geographic base of the AHO panel we are also responding to the Independent Review Panel’s Final Report, which recommended that the TIU should have a more international perspective.”
Ends
Published 07 September 2020 06:00
