A legal study should be undertaken to evaluate whether writ and fundamental rights jurisdiction should be availed of for the purposes of cases such as Lanka Marine Services (LMS), Waters Edge and the recent case involving the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), according to Dr. Wickrema Weerasooria, the Insurance Ombudsman.
Speaking at the P. Navaratnarajah Birth Centenary Oration in Colombo on Tuesday, Dr. Weerasooria said a major development of business or commercial law has occurred by the resort to the writ and fundamental rights jurisdiction where one of the parties to the contract is a public or statutory body. Several tenders and contracts by public institutions have been completely set aside by the Court of Appeal and/or the Supreme Court under this jurisdiction.
"Very recent illustrations are the cases involving John Keells and LMS in which litigation the Secretary to the Treasury was ordered not only to pay compensation for wrongdoing but also ordered to resign his job and not hold any public office," Dr. Weerasooria said. "More recently came the Waters Edge judgment which would result in the abandonment of a well-established golf course, a hotel and a residential resort complex. The most recent intervention by the Supreme Court was its judgment on the CPC's hedging contract for oil where the Chairman was also asked to step down."
Dr. Weerasooria added that not more than a year ago in similar litigation, the Chairman of the Consumer Affairs Authority was asked to answer for contempt of Court and thereafter compelled to relinquish his post and not hold public office. "These are new developments for Sri Lanka. While these decisions have won wide popular acclaim, it would be worthwhile for a legal study to be undertaken to evaluate whether writ and fundamental rights jurisdiction should be availed of for these purposes."
Dr. Weerasooria said Mr. Navaratnarajah, Queens Counsel, had a brilliant academic career and excelled as a trial lawyer with brilliant cross-examination skills. In many tributes paid to him by the Bench and the Bar, his cross-examination has been referred to 'as deadly, as devastating, as incisive and as penetrating.' Mr. Navaratnarajah was able to plan and develop a 'litigation strategy' which was very effective and not only impressed the judge but took the opposing counsel completely by surprise.
Dr. Weerasooria said another feature of Mr. Navaratnarajah that was highlighted by the Supreme Court in the tribute paid to him after his death, was his highest professional and ethical standards and his unfailing courtesy to the judges and his colleagues at the Bar. "These are standards that lawyers must never forget," Dr. Weerasooria said.
He added that the P. Navaratnarajah Foundation has conducted several excellent projects and has also established a prize in the Law of Evidence at the Sri Lanka Law College to be awarded annually to the best student in Evidence and founded an annual scholarship for an outstanding student at St. Benedicts College, Mr. Navaratnarajah's old school.
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