AW Chambers — Insights https://www.awchambers.com/news-insights Commentary on Sri Lankan law from AW Chambers, Colombo. Each article is written against the enacted text and cites the sections it relies on. en-GB © 2026 AW Chambers, Colombo. All rights reserved. This feed carries summaries only; articles may not be reproduced in full without permission. Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification https://www.awchambers.com/aw-logo.png AW Chambers — Insights https://www.awchambers.com/news-insights Roman-Dutch Law in Sri Lanka: The Dutch Courts and What They Left https://www.awchambers.com/blog/roman-dutch-law-living-heritage-sri-lanka https://www.awchambers.com/blog/roman-dutch-law-living-heritage-sri-lanka Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Akarsha Weerasooriya Legal System The Dutch East India Company built courts in Ceylon to find out who owned the land. The system it left behind outlived the Company, outlived the Netherlands it came from, and is still the residuary law of Sri Lanka. This is what the Dutch built, what the British kept, and which questions it decides today.

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]]> The 1972 Constitution: What Autochthony Cost https://www.awchambers.com/blog/sri-lanka-1972-constitution-critique https://www.awchambers.com/blog/sri-lanka-1972-constitution-critique Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Akarsha Weerasooriya Legal System The 1972 Constitution was the first Sri Lanka wrote for itself, and the demand behind it was legitimate. What it built on that foundation was a legislature that could not be checked by a court, rights that yielded to an ordinary majority, and the quiet removal of the one clause the minorities had relied on.

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]]> Sri Lanka's Investor Visa: The Thresholds, and Where the Rest of It Lives https://www.awchambers.com/blog/sri-lanka-investor-visa-and-residence https://www.awchambers.com/blog/sri-lanka-investor-visa-and-residence Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Tirasha Fernando Corporate & Investment Two tiers and a fee are in the regulations. The bank accounts, the qualifying investments, the sector limits and the continuing conditions are not — they sit in a departmental guideline and in foreign exchange regulations made elsewhere, and any of them can stop an application that satisfies the amount.

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]]> The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and the Office of Chief Justice https://www.awchambers.com/blog/supreme-court-of-sri-lanka-and-the-chief-justice https://www.awchambers.com/blog/supreme-court-of-sri-lanka-and-the-chief-justice Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Akarsha Weerasooriya Legal Heritage The court and the office were made in the same instrument, by royal charter, in 1801. What followed was thirty years of patching, a Benthamite reformer who wanted one system of courts for the whole island, and a charter in 1833 that largely got it. The structure a Sri Lankan lawyer works in today is recognisably the one that charter built.

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]]> The Attorney-General of Sri Lanka: Adviser and Prosecutor in One Office https://www.awchambers.com/blog/the-role-of-the-attorney-general-in-sri-lanka https://www.awchambers.com/blog/the-role-of-the-attorney-general-in-sri-lanka Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Akarsha Weerasooriya Legal System Sri Lanka gives one office two jobs that most common-law countries keep apart: advising the State on the law, and deciding who is put on trial. England splits them, India never joined them, the United States fused them politically, and Singapore did what Sri Lanka did. The choice shapes how a case against the State is run.

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]]> Hulftsdorp: How a Dutch Siege Camp Became the Legal Quarter https://www.awchambers.com/blog/hulftsdorp-history-sri-lanka-legal-quarter https://www.awchambers.com/blog/hulftsdorp-history-sri-lanka-legal-quarter Mon, 14 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Akarsha Weerasooriya Legal Heritage Every attorney in Colombo works on a hill named after a Dutch commander who never lived to see it fall. Gerard Hulft was shot from the walls of Portuguese Colombo in November 1655 and died five months later. The camp his men kept outside the walls is now where the country's courts sit.

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]]> Contempt of Court in Sri Lanka: What the 2024 Act Changed https://www.awchambers.com/blog/contempt-of-court-in-sri-lanka https://www.awchambers.com/blog/contempt-of-court-in-sri-lanka Fri, 11 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Akarsha Weerasooriya Legal System Sri Lanka codified its contempt law for the first time in 2024. The Act says what contempt is, who may punish it and how it is tried. It does not say what it will cost you, and that omission is deliberate enough to be worth understanding.

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]]> Instructing Sri Lankan Counsel From Abroad: Powers, Proxies and What the Court Needs https://www.awchambers.com/blog/instructing-sri-lankan-counsel-from-abroad https://www.awchambers.com/blog/instructing-sri-lankan-counsel-from-abroad Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Sanjaya Marambe Litigation A foreign firm instructing in Sri Lanka has two separate instruments to get right, and they are governed by different statutes. One puts a lawyer on the record. The other lets someone act in the client's name outside court. Confusing them is the most common way a cross-border instruction stalls.

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]]> Recovering a Commercial Debt in Sri Lanka: What Changed for Cheques in 2025 https://www.awchambers.com/blog/recovering-a-commercial-debt-in-sri-lanka https://www.awchambers.com/blog/recovering-a-commercial-debt-in-sri-lanka Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Pasan Karunarathna Litigation Chasing an unpaid invoice or a bounced cheque in Sri Lanka now runs through more than one statute, and one of them changed materially in August 2025. A dedicated offence for a dishonoured cheque now sits in the Bills of Exchange Ordinance itself, with fixed notice periods and a defined penalty, alongside the civil and summary routes a creditor has always had.

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]]> Wills, Succession and Dying With Assets in Sri Lanka https://www.awchambers.com/blog/wills-and-succession-in-sri-lanka https://www.awchambers.com/blog/wills-and-succession-in-sri-lanka Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Kithsiri Liyanage Private Client A will made in England or Australia can carry Sri Lankan land. Section 5 of the Wills Ordinance says so. But three other rules decide whether an estate is actually distributed the way the testator intended, and two of them changed in 2022.

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]]> Employing Staff in Sri Lanka: What a Foreign Employer Must Know https://www.awchambers.com/blog/employing-staff-in-sri-lanka-foreign-employers https://www.awchambers.com/blog/employing-staff-in-sri-lanka-foreign-employers Wed, 05 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Kithsiri Liyanage Employment You cannot dismiss an employee in Sri Lanka at will, on notice, or by paying in lieu. Section 2 of the Termination of Employment of Workmen Act requires the workman's written consent or the Commissioner's written approval, and the Commissioner's decision cannot be challenged in any court.

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]]> The Dock Statement: Speaking From the Dock Without Being Cross-Examined https://www.awchambers.com/blog/dock-statements-in-sri-lanka https://www.awchambers.com/blog/dock-statements-in-sri-lanka Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Pasan Karunarathna Criminal Law An accused in Sri Lanka can address the court from the dock without taking the oath and without facing cross-examination. It is a real forensic choice with real consequences, and the courts have spent decades working out what weight such a statement carries. Here is what they have decided.

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]]> The Mediation Act: You May No Longer Be Able to Sue First https://www.awchambers.com/blog/mediation-civil-and-commercial-disputes-act https://www.awchambers.com/blog/mediation-civil-and-commercial-disputes-act Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Sanjaya Marambe Dispute Resolution The Mediation (Civil and Commercial Disputes) Act No. 13 of 2026 does something a mediation statute rarely does. Where the parties agreed to mediate, section 5 stops a court entertaining the case at all until a certificate of non-settlement is produced. Here is what that means for commercial contracts and for litigation strategy.

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]]> How Sri Lanka's Court System Works: A Guide to the Courts https://www.awchambers.com/blog/how-sri-lankas-court-system-works https://www.awchambers.com/blog/how-sri-lankas-court-system-works Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0530 2026-09-07T00:00:00+05:30 Akarsha Weerasooriya Legal System Which court hears your case, what can be appealed, and to whom? A plain-English guide to the structure of Sri Lanka's courts, from the Primary Court up to the Supreme Court.

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]]> Litigation Readiness for Sri Lankan Businesses: Preparing Before a Dispute Escalates https://www.awchambers.com/blog/litigation-readiness-for-sri-lankan-businesses https://www.awchambers.com/blog/litigation-readiness-for-sri-lankan-businesses Mon, 06 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0530 2026-09-07T00:00:00+05:30 Sanjaya Marambe Litigation The decisions that decide a commercial dispute are often made before proceedings begin. Knowing the Prescription Ordinance time limits, keeping the records the Companies Act requires and preserving electronic evidence can settle the outcome long before the first hearing.

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]]> Partition Actions in Sri Lanka: How Co-Owned Land Is Divided https://www.awchambers.com/blog/partition-actions-in-sri-lanka https://www.awchambers.com/blog/partition-actions-in-sri-lanka Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Kithsiri Liyanage Litigation Land held in undivided shares is the ordinary result of inheritance in Sri Lanka, and a partition action is how it gets resolved. The decree binds everyone, including people who were never served. Here is how the action runs under the Partition Law, and what the 2024 amendment changed.

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]]> Enforcing a Foreign Judgment in Sri Lanka Under the 2024 Act https://www.awchambers.com/blog/enforcing-a-foreign-judgment-in-sri-lanka https://www.awchambers.com/blog/enforcing-a-foreign-judgment-in-sri-lanka Wed, 17 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Akarsha Weerasooriya Dispute Resolution The Reciprocal Recognition, Registration and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act No. 49 of 2024 repealed the two colonial-era Ordinances and replaced them with a single registration regime. Whether it helps you turns almost entirely on one question: has the Minister listed the country your judgment came from?

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]]> The Proceeds of Crime Act: Why an Acquittal No Longer Protects the Property https://www.awchambers.com/blog/proceeds-of-crime-act-sri-lanka https://www.awchambers.com/blog/proceeds-of-crime-act-sri-lanka Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Akarsha Weerasooriya Criminal Law The Proceeds of Crime Act No. 5 of 2025 lets the State forfeit property without convicting anyone. The proceedings are civil, they run against the property itself, the standard is the balance of probabilities, and they survive an acquittal. Here is how the Act works and where the pressure points are.

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]]> Plea Agreements in Sri Lanka: What the 2024 Amendment Introduced https://www.awchambers.com/blog/plea-agreements-in-sri-lanka https://www.awchambers.com/blog/plea-agreements-in-sri-lanka Wed, 27 May 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Kithsiri Liyanage Criminal Law The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act No. 50 of 2024 introduced written plea agreements to Sri Lankan criminal procedure for the first time. It applies in both the Magistrate's Court and the High Court, and it reaches bribery and corruption prosecutions. Here is how the procedure works and where its hard edges are.

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]]> Bail in Sri Lanka: When a Court Can Refuse It https://www.awchambers.com/blog/bail-in-sri-lanka-when-a-court-can-refuse-it https://www.awchambers.com/blog/bail-in-sri-lanka-when-a-court-can-refuse-it Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Pasan Karunarathna Criminal Law The Bail Act No. 30 of 1997 starts from the position that bail is the rule and refusal the exception. That principle has limits written into the same Act. Here are the grounds a court can rely on to refuse bail, who can grant it in the most serious cases, and how long a person can be held before trial.

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]]> Sri Lanka's Personal Data Protection Act No. 9 of 2022: What Businesses Must Prepare For https://www.awchambers.com/blog/sri-lanka-personal-data-protection-act-2022 https://www.awchambers.com/blog/sri-lanka-personal-data-protection-act-2022 Wed, 06 May 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Sanjaya Marambe Regulatory & Compliance Sri Lanka's first comprehensive data protection law is closely modelled on the EU's GDPR, and it reaches overseas businesses too. Here is what the Personal Data Protection Act requires and how organisations should prepare.

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]]> Sri Lanka's Anti-Corruption Act No. 9 of 2023: What Businesses Need to Know https://www.awchambers.com/blog/sri-lanka-anti-corruption-act-2023-explained https://www.awchambers.com/blog/sri-lanka-anti-corruption-act-2023-explained Wed, 29 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0530 2026-09-07T00:00:00+05:30 Akarsha Weerasooriya Regulatory & Compliance The Anti-Corruption Act No. 9 of 2023 pulled Sri Lanka's bribery and corruption laws into a single statute and reaches private-sector bribery for the first time. Unexplained wealth and influence-peddling were already offences under the Bribery Act. A section-by-section guide to the offences, the penalties, the Commission's powers and what to do if you are served with a notice.

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]]> Arrest and Bail in Sri Lanka: What Happens After You Are Taken Into Custody https://www.awchambers.com/blog/arrest-and-bail-in-sri-lanka https://www.awchambers.com/blog/arrest-and-bail-in-sri-lanka Wed, 15 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Pasan Karunarathna Criminal Law Being arrested is frightening, and knowing what the law actually requires can make a real difference in the first hours. This is how arrest and bail work in Sri Lanka, and what your rights are along the way.

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]]> Drug Offences in Sri Lanka: Possession, Trafficking and the Penalties https://www.awchambers.com/blog/drug-offences-in-sri-lanka-possession-and-trafficking https://www.awchambers.com/blog/drug-offences-in-sri-lanka-possession-and-trafficking Wed, 08 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0530 2026-08-10T00:00:00+05:30 Pasan Karunarathna Criminal Law Sri Lanka treats drug offences with exceptional severity, and the gap between simple possession and trafficking can be the gap between rehabilitation and a sentence of death. Here is how the law and its quantity thresholds are structured.

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]]> Your Rights If the Police Stop, Search or Question You in Sri Lanka https://www.awchambers.com/blog/your-rights-if-police-stop-search-question-you https://www.awchambers.com/blog/your-rights-if-police-stop-search-question-you Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Pasan Karunarathna Know Your Rights Do the police have to tell you why they are stopping you? Do you have to answer their questions? Knowing your rights during a police encounter in Sri Lanka helps you stay calm and avoid making a difficult situation worse.

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]]> What to Do in the First 24 Hours After an Arrest in Sri Lanka https://www.awchambers.com/blog/what-to-do-in-the-first-24-hours-after-an-arrest https://www.awchambers.com/blog/what-to-do-in-the-first-24-hours-after-an-arrest Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0530 2026-09-07T00:00:00+05:30 Pasan Karunarathna Know Your Rights The hours immediately after an arrest are often the most important in a criminal case. A practical guide to the arresting officer's duties, the 24-hour rule, police bail, statements to the police, remand, and what a family on the outside should do.

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]]> Sri Lankan Leaders Who Were Lawyers: Presidents and Prime Ministers Called to the Bar https://www.awchambers.com/blog/sri-lankan-leaders-who-were-lawyers https://www.awchambers.com/blog/sri-lankan-leaders-who-were-lawyers Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0530 2026-09-07T00:00:00+05:30 Akarsha Weerasooriya Legal Heritage Four of Sri Lanka's ten Presidents and two further Prime Ministers held a legal qualification before taking office. This article sets out who was admitted, where they trained, and how lawyers shaped the 1972 and 1978 Constitutions.

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]]> The Oldest Law Firms in Sri Lanka: A Timeline of the Profession https://www.awchambers.com/blog/oldest-law-firms-in-sri-lanka https://www.awchambers.com/blog/oldest-law-firms-in-sri-lanka Wed, 25 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0530 2026-09-07T00:00:00+05:30 Akarsha Weerasooriya Legal Heritage Sri Lanka's legal profession runs from the Dutch courts through the divided Bar of advocates and proctors to a single roll of Attorneys-at-Law. This survey traces that history and the firms founded along the way, from F. J. & G. de Saram in 1841 onwards.

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]]> Arresting a Ship in Sri Lanka: A Practical Guide to Admiralty Jurisdiction https://www.awchambers.com/blog/arresting-a-ship-in-sri-lanka https://www.awchambers.com/blog/arresting-a-ship-in-sri-lanka Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0530 2026-09-07T00:00:00+05:30 Akarsha Weerasooriya Maritime & Trade Colombo is one of South Asia's busiest transshipment ports. When a maritime claim goes unpaid, arresting the vessel itself can be the most effective way to secure it. Here is how the action in rem, the warrant of arrest and release against security work under the Admiralty Jurisdiction Act No. 40 of 1983.

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]]> Enforcing a Foreign Arbitral Award in Sri Lanka https://www.awchambers.com/blog/enforcing-a-foreign-arbitral-award-in-sri-lanka https://www.awchambers.com/blog/enforcing-a-foreign-arbitral-award-in-sri-lanka Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0530 2026-09-07T00:00:00+05:30 Kithsiri Liyanage Dispute Resolution A favourable arbitration award is only worth as much as the ability to enforce it. Part VII of the Arbitration Act No. 11 of 1995 and Sri Lanka's unreserved ratification of the New York Convention make the island a fairly predictable place to turn an award into recovery.

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]]> Setting Up a Company in Sri Lanka: A Guide for Foreign Investors https://www.awchambers.com/blog/setting-up-a-company-in-sri-lanka-foreign-investors https://www.awchambers.com/blog/setting-up-a-company-in-sri-lanka-foreign-investors Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Pasan Karunarathna Corporate & Investment Incorporating a Sri Lankan company is faster than many investors expect. The harder decisions are the choice of vehicle, the shareholding structure, and whether to route the investment through the Board of Investment. Where the venture needs land, the restrictions on [buying property as a foreigner](/blog/buying-property-in-sri-lanka-as-a-foreigner) shape the structure as much as the company law does.

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]]> Buying Property in Sri Lanka as a Foreigner: What the Law Allows https://www.awchambers.com/blog/buying-property-in-sri-lanka-as-a-foreigner https://www.awchambers.com/blog/buying-property-in-sri-lanka-as-a-foreigner Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0530 2026-09-07T00:00:00+05:30 Kithsiri Liyanage Real Estate Foreign nationals cannot take freehold title to land in Sri Lanka. The law does leave several workable routes open, and condominium units, 99-year leases and locally controlled companies each have their place.

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]]> Terminating Employment in Sri Lanka: The TEWA Framework Explained https://www.awchambers.com/blog/terminating-employment-in-sri-lanka-tewa-explained https://www.awchambers.com/blog/terminating-employment-in-sri-lanka-tewa-explained Wed, 21 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0530 2026-09-15T00:00:00+05:30 Kithsiri Liyanage Employment Sri Lanka's termination regime is among the more protective in the region. For many employers, ending a non-disciplinary employment relationship needs either the worker's written consent or the prior approval of the Commissioner General of Labour. Where a payment is due on termination, the [gratuity, EPF and ETF calculator](/gratuity-calculator) works it out under the Payment of Gratuity Act No. 12 of 1983.

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]]> Registering a Trademark in Sri Lanka: What the Intellectual Property Act Requires https://www.awchambers.com/blog/registering-a-trademark-in-sri-lanka https://www.awchambers.com/blog/registering-a-trademark-in-sri-lanka Mon, 19 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0530 2026-08-16T00:00:00+05:30 Sanjaya Marambe Intellectual Property In Sri Lanka the exclusive right to a mark comes from registration, not from years of trading under a name. Here is what the Intellectual Property Act No. 36 of 2003 requires, how an application moves through the office, and how a registration can be lost.

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