IOC 2000 Commission

The IOC 2000 Commission was a commission formed in response to the Olympic Bribery Scandal. The purpose of the IOC 2000 Commission was to study the structure of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the Candidate City bidding process, and make recommendations to update these entities to prevent many of the problems that were occurring. The IOC 2000 Commission was made up of 82 members, with less than half of them IOC Members, and with an Executive Board of 26 members, of whom 13 were IOC Members. The commission produced an intermediary report in June 1999 and its final report was released in November 1999. The IOC 2000 Commission made 50 recommendations to the IOC in its Final Report, with recommendations made by each of the working groups. At the IOC session in December 1999, the IOC approved all 50 of the recommendations, which led to a major re-writing of the Olympic Charter. A summary of the recommendations is as follows:

1. Members: The maximum IOC membership should be 115, with 15 active athletes (defined as having taken part in the Olympic Games or Olympic Winter Games within four years of their membership), 15 International Federation. (IFs) presidents, 15 presidents of National Olympic Committees (NOCs) or Continental Associations, and 70 members elected on an individual basis.
2. Procedure for Selecting Candidates and Electing Members: Proposed forming a Nomination Committee. Each of the above fothur classes of IOC members may propose candidate members. The Nomination Committee consists of seven members, including at least one athlete, elected for a four-year period, three members elected by the IOC, three by the IOC Ethics Commission, and one by the Athletes Commission. The Nomination Committee will evaluate prospective members who will be voted upon by the full IOC session.
3. Nationality: One member per nation for members chosen on an individual basis; one member per nation among the athletes; one member per nation among NOC presidents; no restrictions on nationality among IF presidents.
4. Terms of Office: Term limit of eight years, renewable, with re-election to follow the same procedure as election.
5. Age Limit: 70 years of age for all members and all functions. However, current members will be “grandfathered” to follow the limit of 80 which existed prior to this vote.
6. Rights and Responsibilities of Members: When a vote concerns a country of a member, the member may not take part in the vote.
7. Honorary Members: Awarded to members of 10 years’ standing and for exceptional services.
8. Executive Board: Increase number of members to 15, with four Vice-Presidents. Four-year terms limits on the Board.
9. President: Elected for an eight-year term; may be re-elected one time for a four-year second term of office.
10. Current Members: Current members will be “grandfathered” in place for eight years, at which time they will be subject to re-election as will all new members.
11. Transition Period: During the transition period, to conclude 1 January 2001, the number of IOC Members may be greater than the recommended 115 (currently set at 130).
12. Entry into Force: The new rules will come into force on 1 January 2000, with an implementation period of one year allowed.
13. Program and Participation: 13.1. The obligation of each NOC to participate in the games of the Olympiad will be added to the Olympic Charter – somewhat of an “anti-boycott” clause. All NOCs will be allowed to enter six athletes in the Games of the Olympiad, even if they do not meet the minimum qualification standards. 13.2. Sports Program: A maximum of 280 events is recommended for future Games of the Olympiad. Events included in World Championships programs do not necessarily need to be included in the Olympic Games. Significant discussion followed this vote, as there will be 300 events at Sydney in 2000 and 14 sports are currently applying for admission to the Olympic Program. President Juan Antonio Samaranch suggested that the IOC Sports Commission study this proposal and make recommendations to the next IOC session.
14. Finance: The IOC will transfer knowledge concerning licensing programs to future Organizing Committees of the Olympic Games (OCOGs). The IOC will also provide guidelines and recommendations concerning ticketing and pricing to the OCOGs.
15. Paralympics: The Paralympics must be held in the same city as the Olympics, following the Games. The IOC will formalize its relationship with the International Paralympic Committee.
16. Management of the Olympic Games: The IOC established an operational structure to transfer knowledge and expertise from one edition of Olympic Games and Olympic Winter Games to the next.
17. Athletes (1): Defined an active Olympic athlete as one who is still competing or has participated in the most recent edition of the Olympic Games.
18. Athletes (2): Athletes should be represented at all levels of the Olympic Movement.
19. Athletes (3): The Athletes Commission should be represented on the IOC Executive Board, and recommends the same for IFs, NOCs, and National Governing Bodies (NGBs).
20. Athletes (4): Organizing Committees of the Olympic Games (OCOGs) must include an athlete on their boards.
21. Athletes (5): The IOC Athletes Commission must be allocated a budget for its operation.
22. Athletes (6): During the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games and Olympic Winter Games, the elected athletes will be recognized by their peers and the Olympic Family.
23. Role of Olympic Solidarity: Olympic Solidarity should act as the coordinator of development programs for all members of the Olympic Movement.
24. Decentralized Programs: Olympic Solidarity must provide support to Continental/Regional Games under IOC Patronage and will also help develop Regional and Sub-regional Sports Training Centers.
25. Humanitarian Projects: These will be pursued and reinforced if they relate to members of the Olympic Movement and the development and practice of sport.
26. Information Transfer: Olympic Solidarity will ensure that all NOCs have access to the technology necessary for information transfer between sectors of the Olympic Movement.
27. Education: Proposed that NOCs include a session in all Olympic Solidarity-funded programs to educate the participants concerning the Olympic Movement.
28. Regional Information Centers: Proposed that Olympic Solidarity set up Regional and Sub-regional Sports Information Centers to help disseminate information on the Olympic Movement and sports administration.
29. Evaluation/Accountability: Better coordination between the IOC departments and an improved auditing procedure of Olympic Solidarity to be implemented.
30. Education and Culture (1): Merge the Cultural Commission and IOA/Education Commissions into a single Commission on Education and Culture. Create a new department of Education and Culture within the IOC. Hire additional professional staff for the Olympic Studies Centre at the Olympic Museum.
31. Education and Culture (2): Several recommendations to spread the message of Olympism to appropriate regional structures, including publishing the Olympic Review and the Official Reports of the Olympic Games on the Internet.
32. Education and Culture (3): Creation of a traveling exhibit of the Olympic Movement and Olympic History to be set up in host cities, with a clause added to the host city contract.
33. Education and Culture (4): Greater recognition of the IOC on the educational importance of the Olympic Flame relay and participation by the IOC Executive Board in the flame-lighting ceremonies at Olympia.
34. Doping (1): The Athletes’ Oath will be amended to include a statement concerning drug-free sport.
35. Doping (2): Implementation by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) of an athletic passport concerning the athlete’s health, allowing doping controls to be carried out and to monitor the participant’s health.
36. Doping (3): The IOC will conduct out-of-competition drug tests beginning at the time of accreditation of athletes at the Olympic Games and Olympic Winter Games.
37. Doping (4): In the event of an appeal against sanctions, the “B” sample should be tested by a different laboratory than the one that tested the “A” sample.
38. Doping (5): Sports not conforming to the Olympic Movement Anti-Doping Code and that do not perform out-of-competition drug testing will be dropped from the Olympic Program. IOC-Recognized sports not conforming to this code will lose their recognition.
39. Relations with Governments and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) (1): The IOC will provide more assistance to the NOCs to develop closer relationships with their respective local governments.
40. Relations with Governments and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) (2): The passage of the United Nations’ Olympic Truce could be supplemented by similar declarations from world leaders and other NGOs to support the Olympic Truce.
41. Relations with Governments and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) (3): The Olympic Truce will be given greater prominence. Six months prior to the Olympic Games or Olympic Winter Games, the IOC president will contact the protagonist nations in major internal and international conflicts and ask them to observe the Olympic Truce for the duration of the Games. During the Opening Ceremony, the IOC president will refer to the Olympic Truce and will note that it is a first step toward lasting peace.
42. Internal Communications: Internal communications within the Olympic Movement must be open, substantive, two-way and timely.
43. External Communications: An IOC spokesperson will be appointed to support the IOC president and other IOC Executives. The Communications Department of the IOC will develop a pro-active approach to media relations. IOC sessions will be open to the media on closed-circuit television.
44. Transparency (1): The flow of IOC funds for each Olympiad will be disclosed beginning with the current Olympiad, via independent, external auditors.
45. Transparency (2): The IOC will disclose the allocation of funds to each NOC and IF and each entity of the Olympic Movement will submit to the IOC an accounting of its expenditure of funds provided by the IOC.
46. Transparency (3): The IOC will seek a more transparent disclosure of fund distribution to be phased in over future Olympiads.
47. Transparency (4): Each bid city must disclose the source of funding for bid expenditures, which will be audited at the conclusion of the bid process.
48. Transparency (5): The IOC will encourage NOCs and IFs to disclose their sources and uses of funds.
49. Role of the NOCs in the Bid Process: The NOC should be involved in any Olympic candidature as a full partner with the bid committee and should take responsibility for the Olympic bid to the IOC.
50. New Candidature Procedure: A new bid acceptance phase will be instituted, with a series of recommendations as follows:
    1. Strict minimum technical requirements applied to the selection of a bid city.
    2. In the new bid acceptance process, representatives of the IOC, IFs, NOCs, athletes and external experts examine the proposed bids and recommend to the IOC Executive Board which cities should be accepted as candidate cities.
    3. The IOC will enter into a contractural agreement with the NOC and the Bid Committee.
    4. The IOC will issue candidate city manuals and prepare candidature files.
    5. An Evaluation Commission will be formed to visit each of the candidate cities.
    6. Selection of final candidate cities, if necessary. The Executive Board may reduce the number of candidates by selecting a limited number of cities.
    7. It is not considered necessary for IOC Members to visit the candidate cities nor for the representatives or candidate cities, or third parties acting on their behalf (“agents”), to visit IOC Members.

In the end, all 50 recommendations of the IOC 2000 Commission were approved, most of them unanimously. The main points of contention were the age limit, which had eight dissenting votes, and Recommendation 50.7, which eliminated IOC Members’ visits to candidate cities, but even those passed with over 90 percent of the vote.