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The Olympic Charter, last updated September 1, 2004, is a set of rules and guidelines for the organization of the Olympic Games, and for governing the Olympic Movement. Adopted by International Olympic Committee (IOC), it is the codification of the Fundamental Principles, Rules and By-laws. French and English are the official languages of the Olympic Charter. However, during IOC sessions, the Olympic Charter is translated into German, Spanish, Russian, and Arabic. If, at any time, there is a discrepancy between versions of the text, the French text prevails.

Contents 1 Purpose of the Olympic Charter 2 Main Components of the Olympic Charter 2.1 Chapter 3: The International Federations (IFs) 2.2 Chapter 4: The National Olympic Committees (NOCs) 2.3 Chapter 5: The Olympic Games 3 The Olympic Charter in Recent News 4 External links

Throughout the history of the Olympics, the Olympic Charter has often decided the outcome of Olympic controversy. As expressed in its introduction, the Olympic Charter serves 3 main purposes:

• to establish principles and values of Olympism
• to serve as IOC law
• to define the rights and obligations of the 3 main constituents of the Olympic movement: the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Federations and the National Olympic Committees , and the Organizing Committees for the Olympic Games.

With its 5 chapters and 61 articles, the Olympic Charter outlines in detail several guidelines and rules. This article highlights and summarizes those items considered most important to governing the Olympic Games, the Olympic movement, and its 3 main constituents: the International Olympic Committee, the International Federations, and the National Olympic Committees.

===Chapter 1: The Olympic Movement and its Actio

Article 2: The mission of the IOC is to promote Olympicism throughout the world and to lead the Olympic Movement. This includes upholding ethics in sports, encouraging participation in sports, ensuring the Olympic Games take place on a regular schedule, protecting the Olympic Movement, and encouraging and supporting the development of sport.

Article 6: The Olympic Games are competitions between athletes in individual or team events and not between countries.

Article 8: The Olympic symbol consists of five interlocking rings which, from left to right are blue, yellow, black, green, and red.

Chapter 3 discusses the role of International Federations (IFs) in the Olympic movement. IFs are international non-governmental organizations that administer to sports at the world level and encompass organizations administering such sports at the national level. For each sport that is part of the Olympic Games, an International Federation exists. These IFs work to ensure their sports are developed in a way that agrees with the Olympic Charter and the Olympic spirit. With technical expertise in its particular sport, an IF has control over eligibility for competition as well as details of the venue in which the athletic competition takes place.

Article 28: The mission of the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) is to develop, promote and protect the Olympic Movement in their respective countries. The role of NOCs within each country is to promote the spirit of Olympicism, ensure the observance of the Olympic Charter, and to encourage ethics in and development of sports. They are in charge of their country's representation at the Games, deciding on a host city for the Games, and cooperation with governmental and non-governmental bodies during the Games.

This chapter addresses the celebration of the Olympic Games, the selection of the host city, the eligibility code for participation in the games, those sports included in the Games, media coverage, publications, and propaganda allowed for the Games.

In addition, Section 3 of this chapter discusses applicable protocol for Olympic functions and events. This includes an outline of use of the Olympic flag, flame, and opening and closing ceremonies.

The Olympic Charter is not simply a matter of unenforced policy for the Olympic Games. Throughout history, it has served as guidance for the proceedings of the Games. Below are a few of the most recent examples:

• November 2, 2005: Active lobbying against Lord Moynihan in the election of the British Olympic Association (BOA) chairman. The Olympic Charter calls for no government interference in Olympic Association elections. Therefore, the issue is being investigated and if the Sports Minister did mislead Parliament, a resignation will most likely ensue.

• May 2004: Bernard Lagat became a US citizen 3 months before he ran track in Athens and won the silver medal in 2004. The glitch is that he won the medal for Kenya. Because Kenya does not allow dual citizenship and the Olympic Charter requires each athlete to be a citizen of the country he or she competes for, his silver medal was taken away. Also according to the Charter, Lagat must now wait 3 years before he is eligible to compete for the United States.

• December 2004: It was discovered that Marion Jones, 5-time medalist of Track & Field at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, may have been on several banned steroids and hormones when she competed. Because the Olympic Charter states that no decision taken at the Olympic Games can be challenged after a period of 3 years after the closing ceremony, Jones cannot lose these medals unless she gives them up.

• Full text of the Olympic Charter (350 kb PDF)

• Official Summary of the Olympic Charter