The Prosecution of Doping in Spain and Germany – Formal Controls vs. Self RegulationA comparative criminological and criminal law analysisDoping in sport is of significant social, economic and politico-legal importance. However, as demonstrated by the different approaches adopted by Spain and Germany, it is a subject that remains complicated and highly controversial. |
| Project category: | Doctoral dissertation |
| Organizational status: | Individual project |
| Project time frame: | Project commences: 09/2010 Project ends: 2012 |
| Project status: | In progress |
| Project language(s): | German |
| Legal system(s): | Germany, Spain |
| Structure: | Control systems; social change; normative interpretation; comparative law |
Head(s) of project:
- Moritz Tauschwitz [Email]
Research subject:
The principal goal of the study is to assess whether doping should be criminalized in Germany. To assist this assessment, the prosecution of doping from a criminal law and criminological perspective will be analyzed. The experiences of Spain – where doping was criminalized in 2006 – are of particular comparative interest to the study and will enable a thorough comparison to be conducted between the formal control of doping (Spain) and self-regulation (Germany).
Research concept:
The criminal law component of the study will provide a general overview of the development of the law and its application in this field. Various legal interests and their applicability will be examined; the concept of self-harm will also be discussed.
The criminology component will focus on an empirical analysis of the various trends and issues that resulted in the criminalization of doping in Spain and seek to determine why this has thus far not occurred in Germany. The advantages and disadvantages of formal control and self-regulation will be critically discussed. The purpose and benefit of criminalization will be scrutinized with the assistance of actual cases and court statistics from Spain.
In the final part of the study the lessons that Germany can learn from the experience of Spain will be raised in order to determine whether Germany should also criminalize doping. What this would involve and what a model doping criminalization law might look like will also be considered.
Research plan:
Doping has received little academic interest in the past. Despite suggestions from NADA, a comparative legal analysis of the subject has thus far remained absent; the present study is therefore an attempt to map uncharted academic territory.
The time frame for the study is two years. Because most of the relevant German information is theoretical and most of the Spanish information empirical, the bulk of the study will occur at the University of Valencia where the necessary resources such as Spanish legal texts, case law databases and access to academics and experts are most readily available.