Sri Lanka · Courts
Court structure of Sri Lanka
Every tier of the judiciary, what it hears, and where an appeal goes next.
The hierarchy, top to bottom
- Final appellate — Supreme Court
- Fundamental rights, pre-enactment bill review and final appeals.
- Appellate — Court of Appeal
- Appeals and writ jurisdiction over administrative action.
- First instance — Provincial High Courts
- Serious crime, commercial matters and provincial appellate work.
- First instance — District Courts and Magistrates' Courts
- Civil and summary criminal jurisdiction respectively.
- Customary — Quazi Courts
- Muslim marriage and divorce matters under the 1951 Act.
Every court in the hierarchy
- supremeColomboSupreme Court of Sri LankaExclusive original jurisdiction over fundamental-rights applications under Article 126, constitutional review of bills before enactment under Article 121, final appeals from the Court of Appeal by leave, and consultative jurisdiction on presidential reference.
- appellateColomboCourt of Appeal of Sri LankaAppeals from the High Court and District Courts, writ jurisdiction over administrative action, and revisionary jurisdiction over the lower courts.
- first-instanceDistrict headquartersDistrict CourtsUnlimited first-instance civil jurisdiction, including land, testamentary, insolvency, matrimonial and adoption matters.
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