After “Judicial Alchemy:” The Systemic Failures the Swiss Court Ignored in the Jordan Chiles Case

February 12, 2026

By Peter Carlisle
ASU Sports & Entertainment Law Journal

The Swiss Federal Supreme Court (SFT or Court) ruling on Jordan Chiles’ appeal confirms a disturbing reality: athletes have almost no recourse even when Olympic arbitrations are seriously flawed.

On appeal, the SFT rejected Chiles’ challenge and declined to set aside the Court of Arbitration  for Sport (CAS) award that stripped her of her Olympic bronze medal. Applying the narrow  grounds for annulment set out in Article 190(2) of the Swiss Private International Law Act  (PILA), the Court accepted the factual record established by CAS, including that the arbitral  panel had been properly constituted, that Chiles’ right to be heard had not been violated, and that  no defect rising to the level of public policy had been shown. In doing so, the SFT treated the  CAS proceeding as legally valid, despite its many procedural defects. The process that stripped  Chiles of her medal was upheld as legally sufficient, without the Court addressing those defects.