Suspended ICC CEO Manu Sawhney Seeks A Neutral Ethics Tribunal To Judge His Case

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In a seemingly last ditch attempt, suspended International Cricket Council (ICC) CEO Manu Sawhney on Wednesday requested the ICC Executive Board members to "uphold the basic principles of the ICC - accountability, fairness, and integrity" - and appoint an "independent ethics tribunal" to hear his case.

Sawhney's appeal, incidentally, comes just a day before ICC has convened an emergency Executive Board meeting on Thursday, probably to take a decision in his case, said a source. However, Sawhney, who was suspended on March 9 for alleged indecent behaviour towards his colleagues, has "grave doubts over whether my case has even been presented to the Board, whether accurately, or at all".

"Clearly, it is inappropriate for the ICC chairman [Greg Barclay] to be responsible for disciplinary action against the ICC CEO in circumstances where the chairman is the person who made the allegations against the CEO," Sawhney wrote in the letter, seen by IANS.

"The ICC Code of Ethics (which is expressly referred to in my employment contract) contains a fair and impartial process for dealing with sensitive matters, in the form of an independent Ethics Tribunal, and I request that one to be appointed to hear my case. The chairman should not be allowed to use the terms of my employment contract to circumvent basic procedural fairness, transparency, and accountability," he said.

Sawhney makes it clear that only the ICC Board as a whole, and not its chairman alone, has the authority to sack him. "Irrespective of the terms of my employment contract, under paragraph 3.3(A) of the ICC Constitution, only the Board has the authority to terminate my employment agreement," he has pointed out.

"I urge the Board to consider and address each of these issues, as well as my case as a whole, at the next of the ICC Board in order [to] uphold the basic principles of the ICC - accountability, fairness, and integrity."

Sawhney was accused of "targeted acts of bullying against certain [ICC] staff"; of "physical aggression, such as fist banging"; and, of having "impacted directly and indirectly on individuals' health and wellbeing through [his] behaviour". The fourth allegation was that he did not "properly report to the [ICC] Board and have implemented decisions or changes without proper consultation with the Board".

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