Independence of the Doping Control Process

14 April 2026

In May 2025, iNADO published a position statement on “The Benefits of Expanding Operational Independence for Doping Control Activities Beyond only National Anti-Doping Organisations (NADOs).”

The concept of operational independence for anti-doping organizations is not new. In November 2014, iNADO joined the Council of Europe’s celebration of the Anti-Doping Convention’s 25th Anniversary with a presentation “Why Should NADOs be Independent”. That presentation focused on the need to ensure independence for National Anti-Doping Organizations (NADOs) with a view to expanding their scope of responsibilities and providing them with the resources needed to implement the World Anti-Doping Code. In 2017, then iNADO CEO Joseph de Pencier addressed the same concepts in an iNADO statement on the WADA Governance reform process.
iNADO now actualized the 2017 statement. In this new publication – “Independence of the Doping Control Process” – more background is provided to the 2025 iNADO position statement by reference to the principles explained in the 2017 paper. The publication also addresses problems that arose at a later date which prompted a reaction to (re-)build trust and confidence in anti-doping authorities, and incorporates more recent findings on (NADO/Sport) good governance.

“This new publication comes in time to support the current work within the anti-doping community on the implementation of the 2027 World Anti-Doping Code, especially with regards to the new definitions on (NADO) Operational Independence” said Dr. Peter Van de Vliet, iNADO CEO and lead author. “The paper not only gives examples of challenges that lead to the creation of National Anti-Doping Organizations, but also can support International Federations in their journey to ensure that their anti-doping activities operate independently from their sport governance and operations.”

The full report is available for download on our publications page.