THE SUPREME Court will decide on Friday morning whether ASADA can compel key witnesses Shane Charter and Nima Alavi to give evidence at the anti-doping hearing involving 34 past and present Essendon players.
 
Justice Clyde Croft will hand down his decision at 10am on Friday on whether he will issue subpoenas compelling Charter and Alavi to appear before the AFL Anti-Doping hearing that starts on Monday.
 
ASADA has sought the subpoenas on the basis that sports scientist Charter and compound pharmacist Alavi are relevant witnesses to its case against the 34 players.
 
The anti-doping authority's lawyer, Dan Star, has argued over the past two days that the AFL is bound in a three-way commercial relationship with its clubs and players and that the Anti-Doping Tribunal is properly categorised as an arbitration.
 
If Justice Croft accepts Star's arguments, he can issue subpoenas against Charter and Alavi under the Commercial Arbitration Act, but he can still refuse to do so if he is not satisfied that they are relevant witnesses to ASADA's case.
 
Alavi's lawyer, Tony Rodbard-Bean, has argued that the AFL's relationship with its players is an employment based one and that the Anti-Doping Tribunal is a domestic tribunal.
 
If Croft accepts Rodbard-Bean's submissions, he will not grant the subpoenas.
 
AFL.com.au will be in the Supreme Court on Friday and will bring you news of Justice Croft's decision as soon as it happens.