Sports News

Sachs chosen to resolve cricket dispute

South African judge Albie Sachs has been appointed by the International Cricket Council to resolve a dispute with the Indian cricket board, the ICC announced on Wednesday.

ICC president Ehsan Mani said Sachs would preside at the Board of Control for Cricket in India's dispute over the process used to deal with Indian captain Sourav Ganguly's appeal under the ICC Code of Conduct.

Justice Sachs will sit as the sole member of an ICC Disputes Resolution Committee. Over the coming days the South African Constitutional Court judge will consider the format and timeframe of the hearing.

Sachs will deal with a number of technical issues raised by the BCCI in relation to the process by which the charge and the appeal were heard.

In relation to the decision taken by the ICC appeals commissioner, Michael Beloff QC, the ICC code of conduct states: "The decision of the appeals commissioner shall be final and binding."

The terms of reference for the Disputes Resolution Committee state: "Unless the Disputes Committee determines otherwise, the procedure shall comprise written submissions from the parties and, if the Disputes Committee deems it appropriate, an oral hearing."

Sachs is South Africa's nominated representative on the ICC code of conduct commission. His decision will be final and binding on the parties.

Sachs started his practice as an advocate at the Cape Town Bar in 1957 working mainly in the civil rights sphere.

He was a leader in the struggle for human rights in South Africa and was detained without trial by the security police under the apartheid regime.

During the 1980s, working closely with Oliver Tambo, leader of the ANC in exile, he helped draft the organisation's code of conduct, as well as its statutes.

He lost an arm in a bomb blast perpetrated by the apartheid security forces. After recovering from the assassination attempt he devoted himself full-time to preparations for a new democratic constitution for South Africa.

In 1990 he returned home and, as a member of the constitutional committee and the National Executive of the ANC, took an active part in the negotiations which led to South Africa becoming a constitutional democracy.

After the first democratic election in 1994 he was appointed by President Nelson Mandela to serve on the newly established Constitutional Court.

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