Lauri Tarasti Awarded

Justice Lauri Tarasti is a lawyer who has enjoyed a distinguished career in public administration and sports law. He held several political posts in the 1980s and 1990s, culminating in 1994 when he was nominated Justice at the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland, retiring in 2006 but actively continuing in an advisory role as legal counsel to the Ministry of Justice and in international sport affairs.  He is a member of the IOC Sport and Law Commission and was a member of the Scientific Committee of the ICSEMIS 2012 Convention. Lauri has also a distinguished career in sports administration, including being President of the Finnish Society of Sport Sciences from 1987 to 1991.

Lauri is one of the leading juridical doping experts in the world. He acted as the first chairman of the international sport tribunal, the Arbitration Panel of the IAAF from 1985 to 1997. His book ´Legal Solutions in International Doping Cases´ was published in Milano 2000. He contributed actively to international discussions that led to the formation of the World Anti Doping Agency.  As a sportsman, Lauri was a national level sprinter and a strong squash player.  He continues to play tennis and is a wonderful example of lifelong physical activity.

A highly respected scholar, Lauri has published five juridical books (14 editions) and more than 130 articles, writings in international and national scientific periodicals.  He has been a prominent member of ICSSPE since 2005 performing roles on the Executive Board between 2005-8, and providing excellent counsel on all legal and constitutional matters.  Lauri was a key advocate for the establishment of the International Convention on Science, Education and Medicine in Sport (ICSEMIS) first held in Guang Zhou prior to the Beijing Olympics, and assisting in the drafting of the inter-agency memorandum of agreement between ICSSPE, the IOC, IPC and FIMS.  ICSSPE has been privileged to benefit from ongoing legal advice from Lauri, over the last decade and more – all provided pro bono.  It was very apt that he received the Phillip Noel Baker Award at the 2nd ICSEMIS in Glasgow, July 2012.

Written by Michael McNamee and edited by Margaret Talbot.