Explained: What Is the Court Of Arbitration For Sport That Holds Vinesh Phogat's Fate In Its Hands

Paris Olympics 2024: India's star wrestler Vinesh Phogat was in sublime form as she qualified for the summit clash of the women's 50kg of the ongoing mega event. But on Wednesday she was disqualified as she was overweight by 100 grams and couldn't play in the final. She had also scripted history as she became the first Indian woman wrestler to have qualified for a final.

After her disqualification, she also appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sports to allow her to play in the gold medal match. If the court permits her, then she had also requested to at least be awarded the joint silver medal. The CAS ruling is expected to come on Thursday.

The CAS was built in 1984 and it is an international organization that solves disputes related to sports through arbitration. Its headquarters is situated in Switzerland, New York, Sydney, and Lausanne. Temporary courts are also built in Paris for the ongoing Olympics.

John Coates is currently the president of CAS as he was appointed in 2011. A dispute is usually handed over to the CAS only if the arbitration agreement between both parties is specified to the CAS. All the Olympic disputes can be submitted to CAS and all international federations acknowledge the jurisdiction of CAS in some disputes.

Juan Antonio Samaranch, who is the president of the IOC had initially given the concept of CAS, to settle disputes during the Olympics. It came into existence in 1984. With the help of the World Anti-Doping code, all the concerned signatories, Olympic international federations, and national Olympic committees had agreed to CAS jurisdiction for anti- doping rule violations.

Post-2016, anti-doping divisions of CAS judges, who work in doping cases during the Olympics had replaced the IOC disciplinary commission. And as a Swiss arbitration organization, the ruling of the CAS can also be moved to Switzerland's Federal Supreme Court.