Sri Lanka

Legal tradition

Sri Lanka belongs to the mixed civil, common and customary law tradition. One of the most genuinely plural systems in the atlas. Roman-Dutch law, received during Dutch rule, remains the residual common law for property, delict, obligations and succession. English law governs commercial matters — sale of goods, companies, negotiable instruments, insurance, maritime. Three customary personal-law systems operate alongside: Kandyan law for up-country Sinhalese, Thesawalamai for Tamils of the Northern Province, and Muslim law administered partly through Quazi courts. Which regime applies depends on the subject matter and, for personal status, on the parties' community and locality.

How power is divided

Unitary with a devolved provincial layer created by the Thirteenth Amendment of 1987, which established nine provincial councils with legislative competence over a devolved list. Devolution has been contested and uneven; provincial councils have operated without elections since 2018, and the Northern and Eastern provinces' status was central to the conflict that ended in 2009.

Where law comes from

The Constitution of 1978

Supreme, but statutes cannot be challenged after enactment.

Acts of Parliament

The principal source of modern law.

Roman-Dutch law

Residual common law for property, obligations and delict.

English law

Applies to commercial subjects by statutory reception.

Kandyan, Thesawalamai and Muslim law

Personal laws applying by community and region.

The legal profession

A single fused profession: attorneys-at-law are admitted and enrolled by the Supreme Court after the Sri Lanka Law College course and examinations, or a recognised law degree plus the final examination. The historic split between advocates and proctors was abolished in 1974. President's Counsel is a distinction conferred by the President. The Bar Association of Sri Lanka represents the profession, and attorneys have rights of audience in all courts from admission.