Sri Lanka's courts form a hierarchy set by the Judicature Act and the Constitution. Cases start in one of seven courts of first instance, appeals go to a provincial High Court or the Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court is final.
The structure is logical once the hierarchy is clear. The legal system guide walks through procedure stage by stage; this article sets out the courts themselves.
The shape of the system
The structure of the ordinary courts is set out in the Judicature Act No. 2 of 1978, while the two highest courts, the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, are established by Chapter XVI of the Constitution. Section 2 of the Judicature Act, as replaced by the Judicature (Amendment) Act No. 34 of 2022, lists the courts of first instance: the High Court of the Republic, the High Courts of the Provinces established under Article 154P of the Constitution, the District Courts, the Family Courts, the Small Claims Courts, the Magistrates' Courts and the Primary Courts. The 2022 Act also moved most first appeals from the Court of Appeal to the provincial High Courts. Sections 1(2) and 1(3) left commencement to the Minister, and the Orders were made: Gazette Extraordinary No. 2310/40 of 15 December 2022 brought the Act into operation on 1 January 2023, other than section 4, which deals with the appointment of the Pre-Trial Judge. The same Gazette commenced the Small Claims Courts' Procedure Act No. 33 of 2022, the High Court of the Provinces (Special Provisions) (Amendment) Act No. 35 of 2022 and the Civil Procedure Code (Amendment) Act No. 36 of 2022 on the same date.
The courts of first instance
| Court | What it hears | Provision |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Court | Civil claims up to Rs 1,500, local authority by-laws and revenue, and offences prescribed by regulation. The Fourth Schedule excludes 36 classes of action, including partition, mortgage and contract, whatever the value | ss. 32, 33 |
| Magistrate's Court | Summary trial of offences, and the non-summary inquiry into offences that go to the High Court, under the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure Act No. 15 of 1979 | s. 30 |
| Small Claims Court | Exclusive civil jurisdiction over actions for money or movable property up to Rs 1.5 million excluding interest (Seventh Schedule), or such other amount as the Minister may fix by Order approved by Parliament. Procedure is governed by the Small Claims Courts' Procedure Act No. 33 of 2022. In force since 1 January 2023, but dedicated premises exist in only a few places; elsewhere the District Court of the district exercises the jurisdiction | ss. 29A, 29B |
| District Court | Unlimited original jurisdiction in civil, revenue, trust, insolvency and testamentary matters not assigned elsewhere; persons of unsound mind; probate and letters of administration | ss. 19, 20, 21 |
| Family Court | Sole jurisdiction over divorce, nullity, separation, matrimonial property, custody, alimony, dependants' claims, adoption and legitimacy, subject to a proviso preserving Kandyan and Muslim marriage law; the District Court sits as the Family Court. Maintenance applications go to the Magistrate's Court under the Maintenance Act No. 37 of 1999 | ss. 5, 24 |
| High Court of the Republic | Trials on indictment; jury trials for Second Schedule offences where the accused elects; trials at Bar before three judges; Admiralty jurisdiction in Colombo | ss. 9, 11, 12, 13 |
| High Court of the Province | Original criminal jurisdiction within the Province; appeals and revision from Magistrates' and Primary Courts; writs on Provincial Council List matters | Art. 154P(3), (4) |
Most criminal cases begin in the Magistrate's Court, where a suspect is first produced after arrest. The District Court is the principal civil court and, since the 2022 amendment, sits as the Family Court in family matters. In a family dispute the judge must refer the parties to a Family Counsellor before any trial unless a party asks in writing that it not be referred (section 26(2)), and custody applications are heard day to day (section 29(3)).
Three special forms of the High Court
The Commercial High Court in Colombo is a provincial High Court vested with civil jurisdiction by Order under section 2 of the High Court of the Provinces (Special Provisions) Act No. 10 of 1996. Its Schedules give it actions arising from commercial transactions above a figure fixed by the Minister, together with applications and proceedings under the Companies Act No. 7 of 2007 and the Intellectual Property Act No. 36 of 2003. The threshold rose from Rs 5 million to Rs 20 million with effect from 15 March 2019, and to Rs 50 million by Notification in Gazette Extraordinary No. 2312/26 of 28 December 2022, with effect from 1 February 2023. The increase does not touch cases filed before 31 January 2023. A claim below the current figure is filed in the District Court. The only appeal from the Commercial High Court lies to the Supreme Court under section 5 of the 1996 Act.
The Civil Appellate High Court is the same provincial High Court exercising the appellate jurisdiction given by section 5A of the High Court of the Provinces (Special Provisions) Act No. 19 of 1990, inserted by Act No. 54 of 2006. Section 5A covered District Courts and Family Courts; the High Court of the Provinces (Special Provisions) (Amendment) Act No. 35 of 2022 extended it to Small Claims Courts. It sits with not less than two judges (section 5B), and a further appeal lies to the Supreme Court with leave on a substantial question of law (section 5C).
The Permanent High Court at Bar was created by the Judicature (Amendment) Act No. 9 of 2018 as section 12A of the Judicature Act. Three High Court judges nominated by the Chief Justice try indictments for the financial and economic offences in the Sixth Schedule, on the Chief Justice's direction. The trial is heard day to day unless exceptional circumstances are recorded, and the appeal goes to at least five Supreme Court judges within 28 days (section 12B).
The Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court
The Court of Appeal consists of its President and between six and eleven other judges (Article 137). Article 138 gives it appellate jurisdiction to correct errors of fact or law by the High Court and the courts of first instance, together with revision and restitutio in integrum. Article 140 gives it the writs of certiorari, prohibition, procedendo, mandamus and quo warranto, and Article 141 habeas corpus.
The Supreme Court is the highest and final court of record (Article 118), with between seven and eleven judges (Article 119). It alone rules on the constitutionality of Bills (Article 120) and interprets the Constitution (Article 125). It is the final court of civil and criminal appeal (Article 127). An appeal reaches it from the Court of Appeal with that court's leave on a substantial question of law, or by special leave of the Supreme Court itself (Article 128); rule 7 of the Supreme Court Rules 1990 requires a special leave application within six weeks of the judgment.
Appeal routes and time limits
| From | To | Time limit | Provision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magistrate's Court or Primary Court (criminal) | High Court of the Province | 14 days; 28 days for the Attorney-General | Code of Criminal Procedure s. 320; Act No. 19 of 1990 s. 4; Judicature Act ss. 31, 35 |
| District Court, Family Court or Small Claims Court | High Court of the Province (Civil Appellate) | Notice of appeal within 14 days and petition within 60 days; leave to appeal against an order within 14 days | Civil Procedure Code ss. 754 to 756; Act No. 19 of 1990 s. 5A as amended by Act No. 35 of 2022; Judicature Act ss. 23, 27, 29D |
| Commercial High Court | Supreme Court; as of right against a judgment, with leave against an order | Civil Procedure Code appeal procedure | Act No. 10 of 1996 s. 5 |
| High Court (trial on indictment) | Court of Appeal | 14 days | Code of Criminal Procedure s. 331; Judicature Act s. 14 |
| Permanent High Court at Bar | Supreme Court (five judges) | 28 days | Judicature Act s. 12B |
| Labour Tribunal | High Court of the Province, on a question of law | 30 days; the employer deposits security | Industrial Disputes Act s. 31D |
| High Court of the Province (appellate decision) | Supreme Court, with leave or special leave, on a substantial question of law | Six weeks under the Supreme Court Rules | Act No. 19 of 1990 ss. 5C, 9; Industrial Disputes Act s. 31DD; Judicature Act s. 37 |
| Court of Appeal | Supreme Court, with leave or special leave | Six weeks | Constitution Art. 128; Supreme Court Rules 1990 r. 7 |
One route runs the other way. A provincial High Court sitting as a trial court is appealed to the Court of Appeal under section 9(b) of Act No. 19 of 1990. Where it issues writs under Article 154P(4), or exercises the appellate jurisdiction in Article 154P(3)(b), Article 154P(6) routes the appeal to the Court of Appeal in accordance with Article 138.
Tribunals and forums outside the courts
Labour Tribunals are created by the Industrial Disputes Act No. 43 of 1950. A workman may apply under section 31B over the termination of employment, and over gratuity where the industry employed fewer than fifteen workmen, and the tribunal makes the order it considers just and equitable (section 31C). An appeal lies on a question of law to the provincial High Court within thirty days, and an employer who appeals must first deposit the sum awarded, or twelve months' wages where reinstatement was ordered (section 31D).
Quazi courts have exclusive jurisdiction under sections 47 and 48 of the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act No. 13 of 1951 over claims between Muslim spouses for mahr, maintenance, kaikuli and nullity. A Quazi's order is appealed to the Board of Quazis (section 60) and from there to the Court of Appeal with its leave (section 62).
Mediation Boards under the Mediation Boards Act No. 72 of 1988 sit before the courts. Section 7(1)(a), as amended by the Mediation Board (Amendment) Act No. 9 of 2016, stops any court of first instance entertaining a dispute over property, a debt, damage or demand worth up to Rs 500,000, or an offence listed in the Second Schedule, unless the plaintiff produces a certificate of non-settlement issued under section 14A. Provisional remedies are the exception. The Mediation (Civil and Commercial Disputes) Act No. 13 of 2026 deals separately with commercial parties who have agreed to mediate.
Fundamental rights and writs
Article 126 gives the Supreme Court sole and exclusive jurisdiction over the infringement of a fundamental right by executive or administrative action. The petition must be filed within one month, leave to proceed must be granted by at least two judges, and the Court is directed to dispose of it within two months of filing (Article 126(2), (5)). Writs against public bodies otherwise go to the Court of Appeal under Article 140, or to the provincial High Court under Article 154P(4) where the power was exercised under a Provincial Council List matter.
How a case moves through the system
Take a Colombo supplier owed Rs 80 million under a supply contract. Because the claim arises from a commercial transaction and exceeds the current threshold, it is filed in the Commercial High Court, not the District Court. After judgment the losing party has one appeal, to the Supreme Court under section 5 of the 1996 Act. Had the debt been Rs 25 million, the action would begin in the District Court, the first appeal would go to the Civil Appellate High Court (notice within 14 days, petition within 60 days), and a second appeal would need the Supreme Court's leave under section 5C. The threshold has moved three times since the court was created, and it is fixed by Ministerial Order rather than by the Act, so confirm the figure current at the date of filing. A dispute over co-owned land follows a different path again: a partition action is excluded from the Primary Court by the Fourth Schedule and is filed in the District Court.
On the criminal side, a person arrested for a Penal Code offence is produced before the Magistrate, where bail is decided. If the offence is summarily triable the Magistrate hears it, and a conviction is appealed to the provincial High Court within 14 days, then to the Supreme Court only on a substantial question of law and with leave. If the offence must be tried on indictment, the Magistrate holds the non-summary inquiry and the Attorney-General indicts in the High Court. A conviction there goes to the Court of Appeal within 14 days, and then to the Supreme Court with leave or special leave applied for within six weeks.
The hierarchy fixes where a case must be started, what can be appealed and to which court, and how many stages remain. Starting in the wrong forum wastes time and cost; civil practice covers choosing the forum before filing.
