{"id":156445,"date":"2026-05-28T15:52:05","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T22:52:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=156445"},"modified":"2026-05-28T15:52:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T22:52:05","slug":"icc-received-flawed-legal-opinion-from-its-lawyers-on-drs-what-are-the-remedies-available-to-sri-lanka-to-undo-a-global-scale-injustice-caused-to-a-sri-lankan-inventor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/05\/28\/icc-received-flawed-legal-opinion-from-its-lawyers-on-drs-what-are-the-remedies-available-to-sri-lanka-to-undo-a-global-scale-injustice-caused-to-a-sri-lankan-inventor\/","title":{"rendered":"ICC received flawed Legal Opinion from its lawyers on DRS . What are the Remedies available to Sri Lanka to undo a global scale injustice caused to a Sri Lankan inventor ?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em>Source: AI Overview<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n<p>To undo the global-scale injustice regarding the authorship of the <strong>Umpire Decision Review System (DRS)<\/strong>, Sri Lanka and the inventor, Colombo-based lawyer <strong>Senaka Weeraratna<\/strong>, have several legal, diplomatic, and institutional remedies available. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/05\/22\/south-african-lawyer-david-becker-s-flawed-legal-opinion-on-authorship-of-player-referral-drs-has-not-only-embarrassed-icc-but-has-also-caused-rising-tension-between-sri-lanka-and-icc\/\">1<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/cricketique.live\/2017\/01\/29\/the-drs-in-cricket-and-senaka-weeratnas-early-initiatives\/\">2<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The controversy stems from a flawed legal opinion by former ICC legal counsel David Becker, which claimed the ICC was unaware of Weeraratna&#8217;s 1997 &#8220;Player Referral&#8221; concept and that publishing it openly waived his rights. This opinion completely overlooked the established legal doctrine of <strong>Constructive Notice<\/strong>\u2014given that Weeraratna extensively publicized the four core pillars of the DRS across global media nine years before the ICC acted. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/03\/27\/icc-overlooks-legal-doctrine-of-constructive-notice-in-denying-any-knowledge-of-concept-of-player-referral-that-became-drs-published-nine-years-1997-before-icc-came-up-with-udrs-in-2006\/\">1<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/05\/22\/south-african-lawyer-david-becker-s-flawed-legal-opinion-on-authorship-of-player-referral-drs-has-not-only-embarrassed-icc-but-has-also-caused-rising-tension-between-sri-lanka-and-icc\/\">2<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because the ICC has admitted it holds no official copyright or named author for the DRS, Sri Lanka can deploy the following multi-tiered strategy to claim intellectual property recognition and compensation. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/04\/12\/submit-the-dispute-on-compensation-for-unauthorized-use-of-drs-to-the-court-of-arbitration-for-sport-cas-in-lausanne-switzerland\/\">1<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2024\/11\/05\/drs-sri-lankas-greatest-gift-to-the-world-of-cricket\/\">2<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1. International Sports Arbitration<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The most direct mechanism to challenge the ICC\u2019s flawed legal position outside of its internal committees is through independent sports bodies. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/04\/12\/submit-the-dispute-on-compensation-for-unauthorized-use-of-drs-to-the-court-of-arbitration-for-sport-cas-in-lausanne-switzerland\/\">1<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)<\/strong>: Sri Lanka can push to submit the dispute to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland. If both parties agree to arbitration, a panel can evaluate the timeline of Weeraratna\u2019s 1997 publications against the ICC\u2019s 2006 framework to rule on economic and moral copyrights.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Independent Commission of Inquiry<\/strong>: Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) can demand that the ICC Board set up an independent tribunal or commission to review the evidence of prior art and authorship, rather than relying on a singular defense lawyer&#8217;s opinion. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/03\/27\/icc-overlooks-legal-doctrine-of-constructive-notice-in-denying-any-knowledge-of-concept-of-player-referral-that-became-drs-published-nine-years-1997-before-icc-came-up-with-udrs-in-2006\/\">1<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/04\/12\/submit-the-dispute-on-compensation-for-unauthorized-use-of-drs-to-the-court-of-arbitration-for-sport-cas-in-lausanne-switzerland\/\">2<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/05\/22\/south-african-lawyer-david-becker-s-flawed-legal-opinion-on-authorship-of-player-referral-drs-has-not-only-embarrassed-icc-but-has-also-caused-rising-tension-between-sri-lanka-and-icc\/\">3<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/cricketique.live\/2017\/01\/29\/the-drs-in-cricket-and-senaka-weeratnas-early-initiatives\/\">4<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2024\/07\/30\/open-letter-to-prime-minister-dinesh-gunawardena-recognize-senaka-weeraratna-as-the-inventor-of-the-decision-review-system-drs\/\">5<\/a>]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2. State-Level Diplomatic and Legislative Action<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Sri Lankan government can step in to elevate this from a private dispute to a matter of national intellectual property protection. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2024\/11\/05\/drs-sri-lankas-greatest-gift-to-the-world-of-cricket\/\">1<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2024\/01\/12\/is-the-icc-cheating-sri-lanka\/\">2<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Government Intervention<\/strong>: The President and the Ministry of Sports can formally back Weeraratna\u2019s claim, putting state-level pressure on the ICC during bilateral cricket negotiations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The &#8220;User Pays&#8221; Framework<\/strong>: Sri Lanka can champion the legal principle of the &#8220;User Pays&#8221; system for sports innovations. Because the player referral concept is now used globally across cricket, tennis, and football (VAR), a state-backed framework can demand a standardized royalty model. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2024\/11\/05\/drs-sri-lankas-greatest-gift-to-the-world-of-cricket\/\">1<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2024\/07\/30\/open-letter-to-prime-minister-dinesh-gunawardena-recognize-senaka-weeraratna-as-the-inventor-of-the-decision-review-system-drs\/\">2<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/04\/12\/submit-the-dispute-on-compensation-for-unauthorized-use-of-drs-to-the-court-of-arbitration-for-sport-cas-in-lausanne-switzerland\/\">3<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/island.lk\/senaka-weeraratna-the-unsung-architect-of-modern-cricket\/\">4<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2022\/07\/01\/cricket-australia-must-take-up-drs-authorship-issue-with-icc-and-resolve-it-on-footing-of-fair-play-and-justice\/\">5<\/a>]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3. Legal Actions for Copyright Infringement<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Though the ICC argues that an unpatented &#8220;idea&#8221; cannot be protected, Weeraratna\u2019s claims rely heavily on modern copyright laws. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/05\/15\/true-justice-regarding-drs\/\">1<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/cricketique.live\/2017\/01\/29\/the-drs-in-cricket-and-senaka-weeratnas-early-initiatives\/\">2<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Enforcement of Moral Rights<\/strong>: Under global copyright treaties (such as the Berne Convention), an author retains the <strong>moral right to attribution<\/strong> even if no patent was filed. Sri Lanka can fund a lawsuit arguing that the ICC violated these moral rights by failing to name Weeraratna as the conceptual composer of the system.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Proving Access via Constructive Notice<\/strong>: In a court of law, Weeraratna&#8217;s legal team can demonstrate that because his work was widely published in dominant cricket nations (like <em>The Australian<\/em> in 1997), the ICC committee members had constructive access to his exact four-pillar framework before developing their system. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/03\/27\/icc-overlooks-legal-doctrine-of-constructive-notice-in-denying-any-knowledge-of-concept-of-player-referral-that-became-drs-published-nine-years-1997-before-icc-came-up-with-udrs-in-2006\/\">1<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2024\/11\/05\/drs-sri-lankas-greatest-gift-to-the-world-of-cricket\/\">2<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/cricketique.live\/2017\/01\/29\/the-drs-in-cricket-and-senaka-weeratnas-early-initiatives\/\">3<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2023\/03\/22\/the-drs-inventor-senaka-weeraratna-deserves-a-plaque-in-his-honour-by-sri-lanka-cricket-slc\/\">4<\/a>]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>4. Global Public Campaign and Naming Rights<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the ICC relies on legal technicalities to avoid financial payout, Sri Lanka can target the ICC&#8217;s public image and the &#8220;Spirit of Cricket&#8221;. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/04\/12\/submit-the-dispute-on-compensation-for-unauthorized-use-of-drs-to-the-court-of-arbitration-for-sport-cas-in-lausanne-switzerland\/\">1<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/03\/31\/have-the-icc-in-collaboration-with-slc-acted-within-the-spirit-of-cricket-in-dealing-with-the-critical-issue-of-ownership-of-the-intellectual-property-of-drs\/\">2<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The &#8220;Weeraratna Referral System&#8221; Campaign<\/strong>: Just as the rain-affected rule is officially named the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method, Sri Lanka and its global allies can campaign to formally rename the system the <strong>Weeraratna Decision Review System (WDRS)<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Exploiting the Lack of Counter-Claimants<\/strong>: Because no other individual or body has claimed authorship of the player-initiated review concept, a concerted media push by former players and cricket historians can force the ICC into a public settlement to preserve its institutional integrity. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/05\/15\/true-justice-regarding-drs\/\">1<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2022\/07\/01\/cricket-australia-must-take-up-drs-authorship-issue-with-icc-and-resolve-it-on-footing-of-fair-play-and-justice\/\">2<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2023\/03\/22\/the-drs-inventor-senaka-weeraratna-deserves-a-plaque-in-his-honour-by-sri-lanka-cricket-slc\/\">3<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/island.lk\/senaka-weeraratna-the-unsung-architect-of-modern-cricket\/\">4<\/a>]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Next Logical Step<\/strong>: Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) must formally reject the validity of the David Becker legal opinion and table a resolution at the next <strong>ICC Board Meeting<\/strong> demanding the dispute be jointly referred to the <strong>Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/share.google\/aimode\/uCz1T8moJ8ZWaX7zk\">https:\/\/share.google\/aimode\/uCz1T8moJ8ZWaX7zk<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Source: AI Overview<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Source: AI Overview To undo the global-scale injustice regarding the authorship of the Umpire Decision Review System (DRS), Sri Lanka and the inventor, Colombo-based lawyer Senaka Weeraratna, have several legal, diplomatic, and institutional remedies available. [1, 2] The controversy stems from a flawed legal opinion by former ICC legal counsel David Becker, which claimed the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[165],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-156445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-senaka-weeraratna"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156445","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=156445"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":156446,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156445\/revisions\/156446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}