• Says project hampered by funding, space, staffing limitations   

The Ministry of Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms said that it is to promote the small claims court system in Sri Lanka even though the earliest plans were paused due to the lack of funds, space and staff.

The media has reported that just one out of the Ministry’s promised 25 small claims courts that were due to have been operational by 1 January of this year (2023), has been opened. Those media reports have also disclosed that the process has been affected by a dire shortage of physical and human resources and that those courts were meant to start hearing smaller-scale disputes and giving determinations within a maximum of 18 months from the start of the proceedings. 

However, speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (29), the Secretary to the Ministry, Wasantha Perera said that the Ministry is planning to establish a small claims court in Kandy as a pilot project. Perera also noted that these types of courts would be helpful to reduce the load of cases in High Courts which can easily be finished with lower courts according to the provisions in the law. She also said that the Ministry has understood the importance of reducing the time taken to finish some cases. However, she noted that she is unaware of the number of courts which had been planned to be established, but that the plans to establish small claims courts region-wise, were delayed for some time due to the lack of required funds and staff. She said that it is difficult to find new land for the establishment of new courts but that they hope to discuss with the relevant authorities to find immediate solutions.

According to sources, previously, the Ministry had allegedly planned a total of 25 small claims courts in major towns and cities including Colombo, Gampaha, Galle, Matara, Kaduwela, Kandy, Anuradhapura and Jaffna. So far, only one is functioning in Colombo.