The appointment was announced by the Sports Dispute Resolution Panel (SDRP) which was selected last year to deliver and manage the independent Panel.

 

The Panel was established to end the current situation whereby governing bodies are responsible for setting up disciplinary hearings themselves.

 

From April, governing bodies will be able to hand over this responsibility to the NADP – a service that is being offered on a no-cost basis.

 

Leaver, a QC was chief executive of the Premier League between 1997 and 1999.

 

He also has extensive sports arbitration experience as a member of the Court of Arbitration in Sport (CAS).

 

He said: “The establishment of the Panel was an essential step forward in the fight against doping in the UK , and I am delighted to have been appointed as its first president.

 

"The Panel will provide a quality service, independent of UK Sport and the governing bodies, which will help ensure that all doping cases are dealt with fairly and consistently.

 

"I am looking forward now to selecting members for the Panel and finalising the rules of procedure with which we will work so that we are ready to hear cases from April 1.”

 

Almost 100 applications from eminent lawyers, scientists, medics and sportsmen and women have been received for panel membership, with appointments expected to be made in early March.

 

SDRP Chairman Gerard Elias QC said: “Peter’s experience of a range of international doping cases through his involvement with CAS will be invaluable for the Panel.

 

"We interviewed four exceptional candidates for the post, and Peter was the unanimous choice.

 

"He is a high calibre appointment which very much sets the tone for what we want to achieve with the panel, and should give governing bodies confidence in the quality of service they can expect.”

 

The appointment of Leaver was welcomed by UK Sport’s Director of Drug-Free Sport, John Scott, who said: “For the Panel to be effective it need to be fully independent from the UK ’s sporting community, it needs effective management and it needs strong leadership.

 

"Its evolution over the past few months since the SDRP took on responsibility for it has certainly covered the first two points, and the appointment of such an eminent figure as Peter Leaver to the role of President very much takes care of the third.”

 

It is anticipated that between 60 and 70 cases each year will be managed by the Panel.