DIS - German Sportschiedsgericht: Financial aid

Financial aid (Verfahrenskostenhilfe, VKH) supports athletes and athlete support staff in arbitrations concerning anti-doping disputes before the German Court of Arbitration for Sport. The VKH regulations came into force on 1 April 2016. Therefore, financial aid can be granted for arbitrations commenced on or after 1 April 2016.

Applying for financial aid is easy and requires filling out an application form (in German). This form should be submitted to the German Court of Arbitration for Sport. Applicants must be a party to an arbitration at the German Court of Arbitration for Sport at the time of the application. In order to provide VKH to those who really need it, VKH is not granted to applicants whose taxable income in the calendar year prior to the commencement of the arbitration is expected to exceed 50.000 €.

If VKH is granted, the following costs will be covered:

DIS administrative fees;
Arbitrators' fees and expenses;
Costs of a legal representative, which have to be proven by invoices, up to a maximum of 3.000 € (three thousand) per arbitration;
Travel and accommodation expenses of witnesses named by the applicant in the course of an oral hearing as well as costs for experts retained by the applicant, which have to be proven by invoices, up to a maximum of 3.000 € (three thousand) per arbitration.

Applicants must pay a personal contribution of 250 €, which will be refunded only if the dispute is decided entirely in favour of the applicant.

The VKH is made available through a third-party fund financed by the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) and the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA). The fund is managed by the DIS. The DIS publishes the balance of the fund twice per year on its website. Please note that the stated balance does not represent an accounting statement.

Financial aid (Verfahrenskostenhilfe, VKH) in anti-doping disputes