Abstract:
The U.S. Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act has already exerted tangible impacts on China’s sports community during Paris Olympic cycle. The current global anti-doping landscape is characterized by organizational and regulatory tensions within the international anti-doping system, with a focal point being the U.S. expansion of extraterritorial jurisdiction in international sports. The Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act faces issues including a lack of legitimacy, questionable constitutionality, and conflicts with international legal principles of jurisdiction. This can be addressed through the “Dao” (guiding principle) of upholding regulatory consistency and strengthening human rights protections, alongside the “Qi” (practical instrument) of applying existing legal foundations in domestic and foreign laws. The former entails appropriately integrating and refining the principle of fault liability in doping violation determinations, cultivating domestic athletes’ awareness of rules and rights, and encouraging their active participation as stakeholders in international anti-doping oversight. The latter involves domestic civil lawsuits filed by individual or collective athletes in cross-border contexts, with procuratorates initiating public interest litigation under specific circumstances. Concurrently, data protection legislation should serve as a legitimate barrier against foreign entities’ cross-border disclosure requirements targeting Chinese athletes’ specific data. Additionally, Chinese parties may challenge the constitutionality of the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act by invoking the Due Process Clause and Foreign Commerce Clause under the U.S. Constitution, or file lawsuits against U.S. government agencies and seek pre-litigation injunctions, thereby mitigating expanded damages during critical international sports competition periods