Sport Conventions

The Anti-Doping Convention: an instrument of international co-operation

The Anti-Doping Convention is the international legal reference instrument in the fight against doping.
The Anti-Doping Convention was open for signature on 16th November 1989. To this day it has been ratified by 51 states and is open to non-Member States of the Council of Europe. It has been adopted by Australia, Belarus, Canada, and Tunisia. The Convention does not claim to create a uniform model of anti-doping, but sets a certain number of common standards and regulations requiring Parties to adopt legislative, financial, technical, educational and other measures.

The main objective of the Convention is to promote the national and international harmonisation of the measures to be taken against doping. In their constitutional provisions, each contracting party undertakes to:

  • create a national co-coordinating body;
  • reduce the trafficking of doping substances and the use of banned doping agents;
  • reinforce doping controls and improve detection techniques;
  • support education and awareness-raising programmes;
  • guarantee the efficiency of sanctions taken against offenders;
  • collaborate with sports organisations at all levels, including at international level;
  • and to use accredited anti-doping laboratories

Furthermore the Convention describes the mission of the Monitoring Group set up in order to monitor its implementation and periodically re-examine the List of prohibited substances and methods which can be found in annex to the main text.

An Additional Protocol to the Convention entered into force on 1st April 2004 with the aim of ensuring the mutual recognition of anti-doping controls and of reinforcing the implementation of the Convention using a binding control system.

See detailed chronology here

Download here the information leaflet on the Anti-Doping Convention (pdf format)

Reference documents

Anti-Doping Convention (1989)
Download in pfd here

Additional Protocol to the Anti-Doping Convention (2002)

List of prohibited substances and methods

Information leaflet on the Anti-Doping Convention

Recommendation on the institution of doping controls without warning outside competitions (1988)

Recommendation on the "European anti-doping Charter for sport" (1984)

Recommendation concerning doping in sport (1979)

Other reference documents on doping in sport

More information on…

The states’ compliance with the Convention

Thematic Files:

The Fight against Doping
Sport for all