Olympic Charter

1 IN FORCE AS FROM 2 AUGUST 2015 Olympic CHARTERIN FORCE AS FROM 2 AUGUST 2015 Olympic Charter International Olympic CommitteeCh teau de Vidy 356 CH-1007 Lausanne/Switzerland Tel. + 41 21 621 61 11 Fax + 41 21 621 62 16 by the International Olympic Committee September 2015 All rights reserved. Printing by DidWeDo S.. , Lausanne, Switzerland Printed in Switzerland3 Chapter 1 The Olympic 171 Composition and general organisation of the Olympic Movement .. 172 Mission and role of the IOC* .. 18 Bye-law to Rule 2 .. 193 Recognition by the IOC .. 204 Olympic Congress* .. 21 Bye-law to Rule 4 .. 215 Olympic Solidarity*.. 21 Bye-law to Rule 5 .. 226 Olympic Games* .. 23 Bye-law to Rule 6 .. 237 Rights over the Olympic Games and Olympic properties*.

2 238 The Olympic symbol*.. 259 The Olympic flag*.. 2510 The Olympic motto* .. 2511 Olympic emblems*.. 2612 The Olympic anthem* .. 2613 The Olympic flame, Olympic torches*.. 2614 Olympic designations*.. 26 Bye-law to Rules 7-14 .. 26 Table of ContentsAbbreviations used within the Olympic Movement .. 10 Introduction to the Olympic 12 Fundamental Principles of Olympism .. 134 Chapter 2 The International Olympic Committee (IOC) .. 3315 Legal status .. 3316 Members*.. 34 Bye-law to Rule 3917 Organisation .. 4318 The Session*.. 44 Bye-law to Rule 4519 The IOC Executive Board*.. 47 Bye-law to Rule 4920 The President* .. 50 Bye-law to Rule 5121 IOC commissions*.. 51 Bye-law to Rule 5122 IOC Ethics Commission*.

3 53 Bye-law to Rule 5423 Languages .. 5424 IOC 54 Chapter 3 The International Federations (IFs) .. 5725 Recognition of IFs .. 5726 Mission and role of the IFs within the Olympic Movement .. 58 Chapter 4 The National Olympic Committees (NOCs) .. 6127 Mission and role of the NOCs*.. 6128 Composition of the NOCs*.. 63 Bye-law to Rules 27 and 28 .. 6529 The national federations .. 6830 Country and name of an NOC .. 6831 Flag, emblem and anthem of an NOC .. 685 Chapter 5 The Olympic Games .. 71I. CELEBRATION, ORGANISATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE Olympic GAMES .. 7132 Celebration of the Olympic Games*.. 71 Bye-law to Rule 7233 Election of the host city*.. 72 Bye-law to Rule 7234 Location, sites and venues of the Olympic Games*.

4 74 Bye-law to Rule 7535 Organising Committee*.. 75 Bye-law to Rule 7536 Liabilities Withdrawal of the organisation of the Olympic Games .. 7637 Olympic Games Coordination Commission*.. 77 Bye-law to Rule 7738 Olympic Village* .. 78 Bye-law to Rule 7839 Cultural 79II. PARTICIPATION IN THE Olympic GAMES .. 7940 Participation in the Olympic Games* .. 79 Bye-law to Rule 7941 Nationality of competitors*.. 80 Bye-law to Rule 8042 Age limit .. 8143 World Anti-Doping Code .. 8144 Invitations and entries* .. 81 Bye-law to Rule 82 III. PROGRAMME OF THE Olympic GAMES .. 8445 Programme of the Olympic Games*.. 84 Bye-law to Rule 85646 Role of the IFs in relation to the Olympic Games*.

5 88 Bye-law to Rule 8847 Youth 9148 Media coverage of the Olympic Games* .. 92 Bye-law to Rule 9249 Publications relating to the Olympic Games*.. 92 Bye-law to Rule 9350 Advertising, demonstrations, propaganda* .. 93 Bye-law to Rule 94IV. PROTOCOL .. 9651 9652 Olympic Identity and Accreditation Card Rights attached 9653 Use of the Olympic flag .. 9754 Use of the Olympic flame .. 9755 Opening and closing ceremonies .. 9856 Victory, medal and diploma 9857 Roll of honour .. 9958 IOC Authority of last 99 Chapter 6 Measures and Sanctions, Disciplinary Procedures and Dispute Resolution .. 10159 Measures and sanctions* .. 101 Bye-law to Rule 10460 Challenging IOC 10461 Dispute resolution.

6 105* Indicates that there is a Bye-law to the following provisions of the previous edition of the Olympic Charter (in force as of 8 December 2014) were modified by the 128th Session in Kuala Lumpur on 2 August 2015: Bye-law to Rule 5 ( Olympic Solidarity) Bye-law to Rule 6 ( Olympic Games), paragraph 2 Rule 7 (Rights over the Olympic Games and Olympic properties), paragraphs 2 and 4 and Bye-law to Rules 7-14, paragraph 6 Bye-law to Rule 16 (Members), paragraphs , , , and (with respect to correcting the grammar in the English version of paragraph ) Bye-law to Rule 21 (IOC Commissions), paragraphs 3 and 7 Rule 26 (Mission and role of IFs within the Olympic Movement), paragraphs to Bye-law to Rules 27 (Mission and Role of the NOCs) and 28 (Composition of the NOCs), paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 (previously mentioned at Rule 37, paragraph 2 and at By-law to Rule 37, paragraphs 2 and 3)

7 9 Bye-law to Rule 32 (Celebration of the Olympic Games) Bye-law to Rule 34 (Location, sites and venues of the Olympic Games), paragraph 2 (English version amended to better correspond to French version) Rule 37 ( Olympic Games Coordination Commission) and its Bye-law Rule 40 (Participation in the Olympic Games) and its Bye-law Bye-law to Rule 44 (Invitations and entries), paragraphs 6 to 14 Bye-law to Rule 45 (Programme of the Olympic Games), paragraph Rule 46 (Role of the IFs in relation to the Olympic Games) and its Bye-law Bye-law to Rule 49 (Publications relating to the Olympic Games), paragraph 1 Rule 50 (Advertising, demonstrations, propaganda) and its Bye-law10 Abbreviations used within the Olympic MovementIOC International Olympic CommitteeOC Olympic Olympic Charter Olympic Charter Bye-law to Organising Committee for the Olympic GamesIF International FederationASOIF Association of Summer Olympic International FederationsAIOWF Association of the International Olympic Winter Sports FederationsNOC National Olympic CommitteeIPC International Paralympic CommitteeANOC Association of National Olympic CommitteesANOCA Association of National Olympic Committees of AfricaOCA Olympic Council of AsiaPASO Pan-American Sports OrganisationONOC Oceania National Olympic CommitteesEOC The European Olympic CommitteesCAS Court of Arbitration for SportOGKM Olympic

8 Games Knowledge Management ProgrammeWADA World Anti-Doping AgencyIOA International Olympic Academy11 Introduction to the Olympic CharterThe Olympic Charter (OC) is the codification of the Fundamental Principles of Olympism, Rules and Bye-laws adopted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It governs the organisation, action and operation of the Olympic Movement and sets forth the conditions for the celebration of the Olympic Games. In essence, the Olympic Charter serves three main purposes:a) The Olympic Charter , as a basic instrument of a constitutional nature, sets forth and recalls the Fundamental Principles and essential values of ) The Olympic Charter also serves as statutes for the International Olympic )

9 In addition, the Olympic Charter defines the main reciprocal rights and obligations of the three main constituents of the Olympic Movement, namely the International Olympic Committee, the International Federations and the National Olympic Committees, as well as the Organising Committees for the Olympic Games, all of which are required to comply with the Olympic the Olympic Charter , the masculine gender used in relation to any physical person (for example, names such as president, vice-president, chairman, member, leader, official, chef de mission, participant, competitor, athlete, judge, referee, member of a jury, attach , candidate or personnel, or pronouns such as he, they or them) shall, unless there is a specific provision to the contrary, be understood as including the feminine expressly provided otherwise in writing, for the purpose of the Olympic Charter , a year means a calendar year, beginning on 1 January and ending on 31 Olympism was conceived by Pierre de Coubertin, on whose initiative the International Athletic Congress of Paris was held in June 1894.

10 The International Olympic Committee (IOC) constituted itself on 23 June 1894. The first Olympic Games (Games of the Olympiad) of modern times were celebrated in Athens, Greece, in 1896. In 1914, the Olympic flag presented by Pierre de Coubertin at the Paris Congress was adopted. It includes the five interlaced rings, which represent the union of the five continents and the meeting of athletes from throughout the world at the Olympic Games. The first Olympic Winter Games were celebrated in Chamonix, France, in Principles of Olympism1. Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example, social responsibility and respect for universal fundamental ethical The goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human The Olympic Movement is the concerted, organised, universal and permanent action, carried out under the supreme authority of the IOC, of all individuals and entities who are inspired by the values of Olympism.