Contrary to media reports yesterday, Michelle de Bruin's appeal hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne will be held in public. All parties to the hearings agreed late this week to the unprecedented step of permitting public and media access to the hearings, which begin on Monday and are expected to continue through Tuesday.

Mathieu Reebe, of CAS, confirmed yesterday that for the first time in the history of the arbitration process the proceedings will not be held in secret.

"I think the suggestion came from the de Bruin camp, and FINA (the international swimming federation) have agreed that there will be access for a small number of the general public and the media. There will be no access for television cameras or press photographers, except possibly before the hearing however."

The CAS has been criticised in recent times for the secrecy in which its proceedings have been held. That secrecy has prevented a body of strong precedent being developed for referral by parties to proceedings.

De Bruin is appealing against a four-year ban imposed on her by FINA after a test taken at her home in January 1998 was found to have been tampered with.

Her arbitration case, which is likely to mark the end of the bitter war between the swimmer and FINA, will be heard by three lawyers: Denis Oswald of Switzerland (nominated by FINA), Yves Fortier of Canada (nominated by CAS and chair of the proceedings) and Michael Beloff of Britain (nominated by de Bruin).

Al and Kay Guy, the couple who performed the disputed test in Kells, Co Kilkenny, last year, will also give evidence, as will representatives of the Olympic laboratory in Barcelona, International Doping Tests and Management, on whose behalf the Guys acted, and Versapak, the makers of the doping control kits used by the testers.