As enacted

Contents

Act of Parliament · As enacted

Judicature (Amendment) Act 1981

Official English translation. Where it differs from the Sinhala or Tamil text, the Act itself says which text prevails.

Amending the Judicature Act

Official translation, read from a scanFrom Department of Government Printing's scanned PDF, read by OCR; may contain errors

s 1Short title and date of operation

This Act may be cited as the Judicature (Amendment)

Act, No. 71 of 1981, and shall come into operation on such date as may be appointed by the Minister by Order published in the Gazette.

s 2Amendment of section 4 of Act, No. 2 of 1978,

Section 4 of the Judicature Act, No. 2 of 1978

(hereinafter referred to as the “ principal enactment”) is hereby amended by the substitution, for the words “not more than sixteen Judges”, of the words “not more than twenty Judges”.

s 3of section 5 of the principal enactment

Section 5 of the principal enactment is hereby amended as follows :—

(a)

by the repeal of subsection (1) thereof and the substitution therefor, of the following subsection :—

‘(1) There shall be in each judicial district of

Sri Lanka a “District Court” which shall be deemed to be the “Family Court” when exercising the jurisdiction vested in a Family Court under this Act or any other written law, and in every judicial division there shall be a “Mazyistrate’s

Court” and a “Primary Court” and each such

Court shall be holden by and before a person to be called the “ District Judge and Judge of the Family

Court”, “ Magistrate” and “ Judge of the Primary

Court” respectively.’ ; and

(b)

by the repeal of subsection (2) of that section.

s 4Amendment of section 6 of the principal enactment

Section 6 of the principal enactment is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (1) thereof, of the following subsection :—

“(1) Every District Judge and Judge of the Family

Court, Magistrate, and Judge of the Primary Court and all such Additional Judges and Magistrates of such courts shall be appointed to their offices by the Judicial Service

Commission. ”.

A 57780—15,800 (81/08)

Amendment

s 5Replacement

Section 8 of the principal enactment is hereby of the repealed and the following section substituted therefor :—

principal enactment.

“ Appoint~

8. (1) The Judicial Service Commission ot niditional

™ay appoint as many additional District

Judges, &c.

Judges and Judges of the Family Courts,

Magistrates or Judges of the Primary Court to the same District Court, Family Court,

Magistrate’, Court, and Primary Court respectively as the occasion may require.

(2)

Every Additional District Judge and

Judge of the Family Court, Magistrate, or

Judge of the Primary Court, appointed to any such Court, shall sit seperately and exercise all the powers, or jurisdiction vested in the District Court, family Court,

Magistrate’s Court and Primary Court, respectively of that district or division, as the case may be, for which such Additional

District Judge ‘and Judge of the Family

Court, Magistrate or Judge of the Primarv

Court, is so appointed. ”.

Amendment

s 6Section 9 of the principal enactment is hereby of section 9

amended in subsection (2) thereof, as follows :—

principal 2nactment,

(a)

in paragraph (b) of that subsection, by the substitu-tion, for the words “nominated by the President oi the Court of Appeal”, of the words “nominated by the Chief Justice”; and

(b)

in the proviso to paragraph (b) of that subsection, by the substitution, for the words “the President of the Court of Appeal may”, of the words “the

Chief Justice may ”.

Amendment

s 7Section 17 of the principal enactment is hereby of section 17

amended by the substitution, for the words “and the of helpal

President of the Court of Appeal may”, of the words “ and enactment.

the Chief Justice may”.

s 8Amendment

Section 24 of the principal enactment is hereby of section24 = smended in subsection (1) thereof, by the substitution for or teiel the words “damages for adultery, claims for maintenance enactment, and alimony ”, of the words “damages for adultery, claims for alimony, ”.

s 9Amendment of section 26 ef the principa! enactment,

Section 26 of the principal enactment, as amended by

Act No. 37 of 1979, is hereby further amended as follows :—

(i)

by the repeal of subsection (1) thereof and the substitution therefor of the following subsection : —

‘ (1) There shall be for every judicial district an officer who shall be called the

“Family

Counsellor

”.’

;

(ii)

by the repeal of subsection (5) thereof

;

(iii)

by the re-numbering of subsections (2), (3) and (4)

thereof as subsections (3), (4) and (5) of that section ; and tiv) by the insertion immediately after subsection (1)

thereof, of the following subsection :—

“ (2) Where a dispute in any action in respect o:

any matter within the jurisdiction of a Family

Court, or any application for maintenance, comes up for inquiry or trial before a District Judge and

Judge of the Family Court or Magistrate, as the case may be, such District Judge and Judge of the Family Ceurt or Magistrate shall, unless any party to the action expresses in writing a desire to the contrary, refer such dispute to a Family

Counsellor, who—

(a)

shall make every effort to induce the parties to settle such dispute

; and

(b)

shall submit his report thereon to the District

Judge and Judge of the Family Court or

Magistrate, as the case may be, within such time as may be specified by such Distric:

Judge and Judge of the Family Court or

Magistrate ”.

s 10Amendment of section 29 of the principal enactment

Section 29 of the principal enactment, as amended by

Act No. 37 of 1979, is hereby further amended by the repeal of subsection (2) thereof and the substitution therefor, of the following subsection :—

“ (2) The provisions of the Adoption of Children

Ordinance governing the institution and conduct of proceedings under such Ordinance shall be deemed to apply to such proceedings that may be instituted in the

Family Court. ”.

s 11Amendment of section 45 of the principal enactment,

Section 45 of the principal enactment is hereby amended in subsection (4) thereof, by the substitution, for the words “before a Judge of the High Court, District

Judge, Judge of the Family Court or Magistrate,”, of the words “before a Judge of the High Court, District Judge and Judge of the Family Court of Magistrate, ”.

s 12Amendment of the Third Schedule to the principal enactment

The Third Schedule to the principal enac‘ment is hereby amended by the omission of the item “ Maintenance

Ordinance (Chapter 91) ” from that Schedule.

s 13Amendment of the Fourth Schedule to the principal enactment

The Fourth Schedule to the principal enactment is hereby amended by the omission of paragraph (28) from that Schedule.

s 14Transitional provisions

All proceedings pending in the Family Courts in respect of any application for maintenance on the day preceding the date on which the provisions of this Act are brought into operation, shall stand removed to the appropriate Magistrate’s Court and such Court shall have jurisdiction to take cognizance of, hear and determine or to continue and complete the same, and the judgments and orders of the aforesaid Family Courts delivered or made before the date on which the provisions of this Act are brought into operation shall have the same force and effect as if they had been delivered or made by the appropriate

Magistrate’s Court.

Annual subscription of Bills and Laws of the Parliament Rs, 60 (Local),

Rs. 80 (Foreign),

Bureau, P. G. Box 500, CoLomso 1, payable to the SUPERINTENDENT, GOVERNMENT | PUBLICATIONS before 15th December each year in respect of the year following.

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