Overview

• The Grand Chamber found that World Athletics’ regulations on naturally high testosterone do not amount to discrimination under the European Convention on Human Rights.
• Judges concluded that Semenya’s appeal in Switzerland lacked the rigorous fairness required and awarded her €80,000 in compensation.
• Caster Semenya has been barred from elite women’s events since 2019 unless she reduces her blood testosterone below 2.5 nmol/L for two years under World Athletics’ DSD rule.
• CAS arbitration awards remain final on substance and can only be challenged procedurally before the Swiss Federal Court, which may now reconsider Semenya’s case.
• The decision leaves the contested testosterone regulations in force and highlights tensions between sports governance, national courts, and human rights oversight.