THE INTERESTS of the AFL and the public must be considered alongside those of the 34 Essendon players facing potential doping charges, the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority says.
ASADA’s stance was revealed in documents released by the Federal Court on Friday, outlining part of the defence it will mount against James Hird’s appeal bid.
Hird is challenging Justice John Middleton's ruling in September that the anti-doping watchdog acted within the law in its investigation into the club's 2012 supplements regime.
Following the ruling, ASADA re-issued detailed show-cause notices and summaries of evidence to 34 past and present Bombers players.
In its written submissions, lawyers for ASADA argue: "the interests of the 34 players are relevant, so too are the interests of the AFL and the public at large."
"Those interests militate strongly against permanent injunctive relief and favour non-interference with the show-cause notices - particularly since they have been re-issued.”
The anti-doping body alleges the players were injected with banned peptide Thymosin beta-4.
Thirty-two Essendon players have said they won't respond to the show-casue notices and are pushing for their cases to be fast-tracked to the AFL Tribunal.
Hird is appealing against the wishes of the club and the players involved, and his lawyers maintain ASADA acted beyond its power.
"ASADA (and the CEO) did not have unlimited the investigative powers. ASADA sought to supplement the granted power in a way neither contemplated nor authorised by Parliament and that was unlawful," Friday’s submission said.
"The judge failed to establish any statutory basis ASADA ... to enter into, and implement, an agreement with the AFL to investigate anti-doping violations under the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Act ... or to institute and conduct ASADA's investigation in concert with the AFL, as they did.
"The investigation must ... start over and be carried out according to law."
The appeal has been set for a one-day hearing before Justices Susan Kenny, Tony Besanko and Richard White at the Federal Court in Melbourne on Monday.
