UCI names members of commission set to examine illicit UCI activities
"I am also delighted to announce that we now have the three-member Independent Commission which I promised in my Manifesto. This Commission will investigate the problems cycling has faced in recent years, especially the allegations that the UCI has been involved in wrongdoing in the past – allegations which have done so much to hurt the credibility of the UCI and our sport," Cookson stated.
"Their work will also be focused on understanding what went so wrong in our sport and they will make recommendations for change so that as far as possible those mistakes are not repeated. In recognition of the scope of their task, and to emphasize that, as a sport, we need to gain a positive outcome from its work, it will be named the Cycling Independent Reform Commission (CIRC). Three individuals at the top of their respective professions have agreed to do this work, headed by Dick Marty as chairman."
"Mr. Marty is a high profile Swiss politician and former State Prosecutor, in which post he was specially noted for his energetic activities fighting organized crime and drug abuse. For more than a decade, he has been a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. In the course of this work, he has conducted various inquiries that have earned him international recognition," Cookson continued.
Marty will be supported by two vice-chairmen, Mr. Ulrich Haas and Mr. Peter Nicholson.
"Mr. Haas, of Germany, is a specialist in anti-doping rules and procedures. He is Professor of Civil Procedure and Civil Law at the University of Zurich and a highly respected arbitrator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)."
"Mr. Nicholson is an Australian, a former military officer and specializes in criminal investigations in both national and international jurisdictions. He has worked for various governments and the United Nations where he led several war crimes investigations," Cookson explained.
The Commission members will be assisted by Ms. Aurélie Merle, the project Director who has a background in sports with the IOC and LOCOG and also investigation and justice work for the UN, who will coordinate the work of the CIRC.
"The Independent Commission has already started preparatory work and will soon be given complete access to the files of the UCI and all the electronic data which was copied as soon as I was elected. It will also be seeking testimony from people involved in the sport or who have been involved in the past and we are in the final stages of discussions with WADA to agree how best to incentivize people to co-operate with the Independent Commission."
"We have agreed a budget for the Commission, which the UCI will cover in full, and we have also expressed our wish that its work be concluded this year. Other than that, the Independent Commission based in Lausanne will operate completely independently of the UCI and will organise its work as it chooses. The Commission's terms of reference will explicitly state that the Commission will act autonomously and that its members will not receive any instruction from the UCI," Cookson concluded.
