The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has set up an eight member Indian Court of Arbitration for Sports (ICAS) under the Chairmanship of Dr. AR. Lakshmanan, former Supreme Court Judge and former Law Commission chairman, to resolve all sports related disputes in India.
The other Members include M.R. Culla and retired judges, Justices R.S. Sodhi, B.A. Khan, Usha Mehra, Lokeshwar Prasad and S.N. Sapra. Justice Lakshmanan told The Hindu that he had given his consent to head the sports panel.
A communication sent by the IOA to Justice Lakshmanan says “all sports related disputes in the whole world are settled by the International Court of Arbitration for Sports situated at Lausanne, Switzerland through a panel of eminent experts in the field of law, medicine, sports and others. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had given directions to the IOA to constitute the Indian court of Arbitration for Sports in order to resolve all sports related disputes within the territory of India.”
It says “in accordance with the directions, the constitution of IOA was amended at Ranchi during the 34th National Games in the annual general meeting of IOA. In pursuance, as per the directions of IOC, a decision was taken to constitute the Indian Court of Arbitration for Sports. The disputes have to be resolved in accordance with the rules and regulations of International Court of Arbitration for Sports.”
