International Litigation – Sri Lanka – Anomi Wanigasekera

Julius & Creasy – Attorneys-at-Law was founded by two British solicitors in 1879, and engages in the areas of civil law litigation. These include company law, IP, admiralty, customs, employment, mortgage, testamentary, environmental, IT, fundamental rights and writ jurisdiction matters. Today, the firm serves a combination of local and overseas clients, as well as acting for clients on the instruction of international law firms from around the globe.

Our present workflow is referred to in the above response.

Regarding our cases, our firm was able to obtain two landmark judgments in the Supreme Court pertaining to admiralty law. Re: M.V. Kalyani is one such reported case, as is MT Agros.

The ground situation is that both litigation and ADR are currently active.

It would all depend on the construction of the agreement entered between the parties. The agreements entered generally provide for an arbitration clause, as well as providing the rules under which the arbitration proceedings will be held. In terms of the Arbitration Act, if the agreement provides for disputes to be referred for arbitration, then it becomes a mandatory requirement to comply with the arbitration clause.

Disregarding the requirement to refer disputes to arbitration and initiating legal proceedings will vest with the other party to the agreement and the right to object to the jurisdiction of the court in terms of the Arbitration Act.

If there is no agreement between the parties to refer disputes for arbitration, then a decision can be made either to opt for litigation or, alternatively, for dispute resolution.

There are two major dispute resolution institutions: the Institute for the Development of Commercial Law & Practice (ICLP), as well as the Sri Lanka National Arbitration Centre (SLNAC).

If the arbitration clause expressly requires the parties to follow a specific arbitration rule, then the arbitration centre will oversee to ensure that those rules are followed. If not, the parties and the arbitration centre can agree with regard to the rules under which the arbitration proceedings will be conducted.

In the recent past, there are several cases that were instituted in courts. One of the areas in which cases were instituted was in relation to a vessel by the name of MV “X-Press Pearl” causing marine pollution and oil seepage owing to a fire on board the vessel, resulting in deprivation of the day-to-day livelihood of fishermen, while further denying the citizens’ right to include fish and other items from the sea in their menu.

Furthermore, several cases were instituted for reasons of environmental pollution and damage to the ecosystem.

Another area in which cases were instituted was connected to the release of hazardous material into the sea and rivers by industrial operations.

The Supreme Court in a landmark judgment ordered the operators of the “X-Press Pearl” to pay $1 billion in damages.

When changes are made to laws related to regulatory requirements, it is likely to lead to further litigation. Meanwhile, laws are enacted by parliament for good governance and to prevent bribery and corruption, which will also have a significant impact in relation to litigation.