Ethics and Compliance at the Games: Joint Integrity Unit (JIU) and more
On the occasion of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Games, the IOC’s Ethics and Compliance Office, together with the Organising Committee, set up a joint mechanism to help prevent and address potential misconduct during the Games. The team also engaged in a number of other activities with key stakeholders from the Olympic Movement and beyond.
A Joint Integrity Unit (JIU) was set up by the IOC and the Milano Cortina 2026 Organising Committee ahead of the Games. The JIU was operational from the opening until the closing of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Villages (30 January to 24 February 2026), and allowed for timely and effective information sharing on potential cases of non-compliance with the IOC Code of Ethics. The JIU model once again proved to be successful, continuing to play a key role in preventing and addressing integrity breaches during the Olympic Games with the highest efficacy and timeliness.
In addition to promoting the prevention of competition manipulation at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, the Ethics and Compliance Office met with IOC members from countries considering hosting future editions of the Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games for a briefing session on the IOC Code of Ethics and, in particular, the Rules of Conduct on Targeted and Continuous Dialogue.
“Milano Cortina 2026 constituted a great opportunity for us to meet up with the interested parties”, said IOC Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer Giuseppe Deleonardis. “We had the chance to engage in constructive discussions, explain some key implementing provisions of the IOC Code of Ethics, and outlined the expected standards of behaviour during the Games.”
A number of decisions concerning the IOC Ethics Commission were taken by the IOC Session just ahead of the Games, including the appointment of HE Ms Patricia O’Brien as Chair for a four-year term, the selection of two new Commission members, and the re-appointment of two existing members.