{"id":155693,"date":"2026-04-13T16:43:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T23:43:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=155693"},"modified":"2026-04-13T16:43:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T23:43:15","slug":"icc-is-duty-bound-to-uphold-spirit-of-cricket-aka-natural-justice-and-apply-these-principles-of-fairness-to-provide-relief-to-the-true-inventor-of-player-referral-drs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/04\/13\/icc-is-duty-bound-to-uphold-spirit-of-cricket-aka-natural-justice-and-apply-these-principles-of-fairness-to-provide-relief-to-the-true-inventor-of-player-referral-drs\/","title":{"rendered":"ICC is duty bound to uphold Spirit of Cricket aka Natural Justice and apply these principles of fairness to provide relief to the true inventor of Player Referral (DRS)"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em>Source: AI Overview<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n<p>ICC is duty bound to uphold and promote the &#8216; Spirit of Cricket&#8217;. &#8216; Natural Justice &#8216; is a cardinal component of the latter. ICC is mandated by its fundamentals to resolve the dispute on the ownership of Player Referral (DRS) Intellectual Property by invoking Natural Justice principles rather than misleading legal jargon that brings no relief to the true inventor of Player Relief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The dispute over the Intellectual Property (IP) ownership of the Player Referral\/Decision Review System (DRS) has evolved into a significant ethical challenge for the <a href=\"https:\/\/images.icc-cricket.com\/image\/upload\/prd\/rhatyfvzipulmdvbfzdz.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">International Cricket Council (ICC)<\/a>, with calls to apply principles of &#8220;Natural Justice&#8221; rather than legalistic defenses.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Claim of Authorship<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Originator:<\/strong> Sri Lankan lawyer Senaka Weeraratna claims he conceived the &#8220;Player Referral&#8221; concept\u2014allowing players to challenge on-field umpire decisions\u2014and published it in <em>The Australian<\/em> on March 25, 1997.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Development:<\/strong> Weeraratna argues the core elements of the modern DRS (player-initiated appeals, limited challenges per innings, third umpire review) were adapted from his published work, which antedated the ICC\u2019s first formal tests by nine years.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Gap:<\/strong> Despite widespread publication of his ideas in the late 1990s, the ICC formally launched the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) in 2009, with trials beginning in 2008, without attributing the original concept to Weeraratna.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ICC Position and Legal Standing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Independent Development Claim:<\/strong> The ICC, through former legal head David Becker, previously responded that its committees reached the concept independently and were unaware of Weeraratna&#8217;s publications.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>&#8220;Wave of Rights&#8221; Argument:<\/strong> The ICC argued that by publishing his idea in the public domain without securing a patent, Weeraratna &#8220;waived his right to confidentiality&#8221;.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Lack of Formal IP:<\/strong> A major hurdle is the absence of a registered patent or copyright covering the concept, which makes it challenging to claim direct financial infringement under standard intellectual property laws.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Arguments for &#8216;Natural Justice&#8217; Over Legal Jargon<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Reparative Justice:<\/strong> Supporters argue for &#8220;reparative justice,&#8221; focusing on recognition and honoring the creator, rather than relying on technical defenses.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Constructive Notice:<\/strong> Supporters cite the legal doctrine of &#8220;Constructive Notice,&#8221; arguing the ICC is presumed to have been aware of a widely published concept that changed the game at a fundamental\u00a0level.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Spirit of Cricket:<\/strong> It is argued that the ICC, as custodians of the &#8220;Spirit of Cricket,&#8221; should uphold fairness. Failing to recognize the creator of a transformative, revenue-generating system is seen by some as violating these principles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Call for Independent Investigation:<\/strong> Proposals have been made for the ICC to appoint a Commission of Inquiry or submit the dispute to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland, for a resolution based on fairness rather than expensive legal challenges.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>As of April 2026, the dispute continues, with supporters calling for the system to be officially recognized as the &#8220;Weeraratna DRS&#8221; to reflect its true origins.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/share.google\/aimode\/vOca62a9FsYgFAwS0\">https:\/\/share.google\/aimode\/vOca62a9FsYgFAwS0<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>AI Overview<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>See also<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/share.google\/aimode\/8jOGsgASSQnYZOH2x\">https:\/\/share.google\/aimode\/8jOGsgASSQnYZOH2x<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>International Cricket Council (ICC)<\/strong> faces ongoing calls to resolve a long-standing intellectual property dispute regarding the <strong>Decision Review System (DRS)<\/strong> based on principles of <strong>Natural Justice<\/strong> and the &#8220;<strong>Spirit of Cricket<\/strong>&#8220;.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Core Dispute<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The dispute centers on the claim by<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Senaka Weeraratna,&nbsp;a Sri Lankan lawyer, that he is the original inventor of the &#8220;Player Referral&#8221; concept\u2014the foundational element of the DRS.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Weeraratna&#8217;s Claim<\/strong>: He first proposed the system in a letter to <em>The Australian<\/em> newspaper on March 25, 1997, arguing for a &#8220;right of appeal&#8221; for players to correct manifest umpiring errors using technology.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The ICC&#8217;s Stance<\/strong>: The ICC formally adopted the system (then called UDRS) in 2006. In past legal correspondence, the ICC has asserted that its committees reached the concept independently and were unaware of Weeraratna&#8217;s 1997 publication.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Argument for Natural Justice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Proponents of Weeraratna&#8217;s claim argue that the ICC, as the custodian of the sport, is duty-bound to uphold the <strong>Spirit of Cricket<\/strong>, which prioritizes fair play and sportsmanship. They contend that the ICC should move beyond &#8220;misleading legal jargon&#8221; and apply the following principles:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Doctrine of Constructive Notice<\/strong>: Critics argue that because the concept was widely published in major international media nearly a decade before the ICC&#8217;s adoption, the council is legally presumed to have been aware of it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reparative Justice<\/strong>: Instead of a costly legal battle, supporters call for official recognition and symbolic naming (e.g., &#8220;The Weeraratna DRS&#8221;) to honor the &#8220;Father of DRS&#8221;.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fair Play in Administration<\/strong>: Just as the <strong>Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS)<\/strong> method is named after its creators, advocates argue that equity demands similar recognition for the DRS inventor.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Proposed Resolutions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Current discussions and appeals suggest several paths forward to resolve the impasse without further legal technicalities:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Commission of Inquiry<\/strong>: A formal request has been made for the ICC to appoint an independent commission to appraise the evidence of authorship.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)<\/strong>: Some parties suggest submitting the matter to the CAS in Lausanne, Switzerland, for an impartial hearing based on sporting equity rather than technical copyright laws.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Source: AI Overview<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Source: AI Overview ICC is duty bound to uphold and promote the &#8216; Spirit of Cricket&#8217;. &#8216; Natural Justice &#8216; is a cardinal component of the latter. ICC is mandated by its fundamentals to resolve the dispute on the ownership of Player Referral (DRS) Intellectual Property by invoking Natural Justice principles rather than misleading legal [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[165,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-155693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-senaka-weeraratna","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155693"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155693\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":155694,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155693\/revisions\/155694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}