Overview

• A 15-2 majority of the ECHR Grand Chamber ruled that Switzerland breached Semenya’s right to a fair hearing by failing to provide adequate procedural safeguards.
• Judges deemed her claims under the rights to private life, effective remedy and non-discrimination inadmissible, finding they lay outside Swiss jurisdiction.
• The court ordered Switzerland to pay Semenya €80,000 to cover her legal expenses after concluding the federal court’s review fell short of required rigor.
• World Athletics’ 2018 regulations requiring athletes with differences of sex development to suppress testosterone remain in force, keeping Semenya barred from the 800m since 2019.
• The decision prolongs Semenya’s legal campaign over athlete rights and may influence sex-eligibility policies across sports, prompting calls for uniform standards.