Navigating the complexities of global jurisprudence.

Nathasha Edirisooriya, a Sri Lankan comedienne, was arrested by the Computer Crime Investigation Division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on the 27th of May, 2023 at the Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake on the basis that she had allegedly “defamed” Buddhism during a performance of her show “Modibhimanaya” (Fool’s Pride) in April of this year, which was published on YouTube three days earlier. Brought before the Magistrate’s Court, Colombo on 28th May, 2023, she was

Understanding the Landscape of LGBTQ Rights in Sri Lanka: A History, Challenges, and the Path Ahead A Brief Introduction to the LGBTQ+ Community Sexual identity or sexual orientation is defined as “an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic and sexual attractions to men, women, transgender people, all sexes or none and the person’s sense of identity based on those attractions, related behaviors and membership in a community of others who share those attractions”. However, these categorizations

Corporate governance in the face of environmental and social activism – Is shareholders’ interest reconcilable with a company’s ability to address its environmental and social impact? Corporate governance is usually seen from a shareholder viewpoint, where the main goal of a company is to create value for shareholders, and the board's duty is to achieve this objective. Board operations, fiduciary duties, strategy development, and risk management are all evaluated with shareholder value in mind.

The Consumer Affairs Authority has issued an Extraordinary Gazette notification No. 2332/15 by virtue of the powers vested under Section 10(1) (b) (ii) on 17th May 2023 for the protection of the consumer that any e-commerce entity or platform operator engages in marketing and selling of any goods on digital platform in Sri Lanka. The Gazette defines “e-commerce” as, the business activities of the sale of goods, services or digital content through the Internet or other information network. Furt

An evaluation of State Accountability in ensuring National Security. (SCFR163/19,165/19,166/19,184/19,188/19,191/19,193/19,195/19,196/19,197/19,198/19,293/19) TOn 12.01.2023 a bench of seven judges of the Supreme Court comprising of Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, PC, and Justices B.P. Aluwihare, PC, L.T.B. Dehideniya, Murdu N.B. Fernando, PC, S. Thurairaja, PC, A.H.M.D. Nawaz, A.L. Shiran Gooneratne, delivered the highly anticipated judgment pertaining to Easter Sunday Bomb Attacks in 2019.

Article 4 (c ) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka states that the judicial power of the people shall be exercised by Parliament through courts, tribunals, and institutions created and established, or recognized, by the Constitution, or created and established by law. The court system consists of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court, and such other Courts of First Instance, Tribunals which are the institutions for the administration of justice which protect, vindicate and enforce

The Intellectual Property Act No. 36 of 2003 (the “IP Act”) is the primary legislation which provides for the protection of Intellectual Property rights in Sri Lanka. Protection is afforded to Intellectual Property such as copyrights and related rights, trademarks, tradenames, layout designs of integrated circuits, geographical indications, and undisclosed information (trade secrets). While trademarks, patents, and industrial designs could be registered with the National Intellectual Property O

The Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) regulates the processing of personal data and protects the rights of data subjects. This guideline aims to help you understand what some of your responsibilities will be, once the substantive provisions of the PDPA come into force somewhere between 19th September 2023 and 19th March 2025. 1. Does it apply to you? The PDPA applies to the processing of personal data in Sri Lanka, whether it is wholly or partly processed within Sri Lanka or by a contr

The Recovery of Possession of Premises Given on Lease Act, No.1 of 2023 (herein after referred as “The Act”) was certified and took effect from the 17th January 2023. This Act allows the Lessor to institute an action to recover the possession of the premises given on lease where a lessee has failed or neglected to leave the premises at the expiration of the lease agreement or where he has violated the conditions of the lease agreement (Section 3). The remedies under this Act include the vacant

In terms of the Foreign Exchange (Short Term Foreign Currency Loans from a Company Incorporated Outside Sri Lanka) Regulations No. 2 of 2022 dated 02.12.2022 (“Regulations No. 2”), permission has been granted for companies incorporated in Sri Lanka under the Companies Act, No. 07 of 2007 (as amended) which import raw materials for manufacturing of their products which have a value addition of a minimum of 30% to obtain foreign currency loans from its parent company or a company within the same g