The process is expected to take three years, with a three-stage consultation process being followed.

It is hoped a final draft of the Code can be approved at the 2023 IPC General Assembly.

The IPC say the Code "provides policies and procedures for Paralympic classification that should be common to all sports and to the Paralympic Games."

The Code was last reviewed in 2013 and the current version has been in place since June 2015.

Phase one of the consultation is due to begin next month and run through until May 2022, with phase two scheduled to take place from June 2022 to February 2023 and phase three from March to October 2023.

The IPC say that as part of the consultation there will be regular meetings and calls with members, as well as education sessions.

IPC President Andrew Parsons said: "In October 2019 I committed to the IPC General Assembly that improving classification would be my number one priority for the next two years.

"Although the COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge to the Paralympic Movement in many ways, we have stuck to our promise that we would initiate a consultation process by 2021.

"This review of the 2015 IPC Athlete Classification Code will be thorough and done in partnership with all our members so that together we can develop a better system."

The review will be overseen by a Code Drafting Team established by the IPC, which will be led by Scott Field, a South African swimmer who competed and won multiple medals at both the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Paralympics.

The team will be responsible for compiling and analysing feedback received through the consultation, with the IPC’s Athletes Council, Medical Committee, Science and Research Working Group and Board of Appeal of Classification among those set to be consulted as part of the process.

If the process goes according to the IPC’s draft timetable, the final documents are scheduled to be published in January 2024.

Subject to consultation with the membership, the new Code could be in place in 2025 for summer Paralympic sports and in 2026 for winter Paralympic sports, following the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games in Milan-Cortina, Italy, scheduled to run from March 6 to 15 2026.

The issue of classification has been part of the build-up to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, scheduled to take place from August 24 to September 5 2021.

Last month, the IPC said that "a number of athletes" had yet to be classified ahead of Tokyo 2020, with the classification issue reportedly impacting 10 of the 22 sports on the programme.

Classification is a particular issue in wheelchair basketball, with the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) found to be non-compliant with the Athlete Classification Code in January 2020.

The IWBF is currently reassessing athletes classifications, with the governing body told it must become fully compliant with the current Code by August 2021 if the sport is to be considered for a place at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.