Sri Lanka - Central Authority (Art. 2) and practical information
Central Authority:
Secretary
Ministry of Justice
Contact details:
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Address: | Secretary Ministry of Justice Superior Courts Complex COLOMBO 12 Sri Lanka |
Telephone: | +94 11 244 9959/+ 94 11 2 323979 |
Fax: | +94 11 2 44 5447 |
E-mail: | secretary@justiceministry.gov.lk |
General website: | http://www.justiceministry.gov.lk |
Contact person: | Mr. Padamasiri Jayamanne, Secretary |
Languages spoken by staff: |
English, Sinhala/Tamil |
Practical Information
(The following information was provided by the relevant State authorities or was obtained from the replies to the Evidence Convention Questionnaires) |
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Blocking statutes: | Not provided for by Sri Lankan law. |
Chapter I
(Letters of Requests) |
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Transmission of Letters of Requests: | Letters of Request are first sent to the Central Authority of the requesting State before being sent to the Central Authority of the requested State. |
Authority responsible for informing of the time and place of the execution of Letter of Request (Art. 7): | Central Authority. |
Presence of judicial personnel at the execution of the Letter of Request (Art. 8): | The prior authorisation of the Competent Authority designated under Article 2 would be required. See declarations. |
Privileges and duties existing under the law of States other than the State of origin and the State of execution (Art. 11): | No declaration. |
Translation requirements (Arts 4(2) and 33): | The letter of request should be in the English language or if in French, accompanied by an English translation. See declarations. |
Costs relating to execution of the Letters of Request (Arts 14(2)(3) and 26): | The Government of Sri Lanka does not charge a fee to execute a request. See declarations. |
Time for execution: | 3-4 months. |
Art 23 pre-trial discovery of documents: | Full exclusion. See declarations. |
Information about domestic rules on the taking of evidence: | Evidence Ordinance No.14 of 1895 and amendments. Mutual Legal Assistance in Civil and Commercial Matters Act No. 39 of 2000. |
Witness examination under Chapter I
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Should Letters of Request include specific questions to be used during witness examination or only a list of matters to be addressed? | A questionaire containing specific questions is required. |
Is it a public or private hearing? | Public hearing (Not in Camera) |
Do the judicial authorities "blue-pencil" Letters of Requests (i.e. rephrase, restructure and / or strike out objectionable questions or offensive wording so that a Letter of Request may be executed under the laws of the requested State)? | Yes, possible. |
Is the witness provided in advance with a copy of the questions / matters to be addressed as contained in the Letter of Request? | No |
Are documents produced by the witness authenticated by the court? | Yes |
Is an oath generally administered to the witness? | Yes |
Can the witness be made subject to further examination and recall? | Yes |
Are there sanctions for non-appearance of witness? | Yes (costs) |
Must interpreters who assist with the witness examination be court-certified? | Yes |
How is the testimony transcribed? | Court Staff/Stenographers |
Chapter II
(Taking of evidence by diplomatic officers, consular agents and commissioners) |
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Article 15 | Not applicable |
Article 16 | Not applicable |
Article 17 | Not applicable |
Article 18 | Not applicable |
Taking of evidence by video-links
(under either chapter) |
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Chapter I
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Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links? | |
Technology used: | |
Level of interpretation required: | |
Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation: | |
Interpretation required in which jurisdiction? | |
Who pays for the interpretation? | |
How would a request for evidence be handled if witness not willing? | |
Chapter II
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Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links? | |
Technology used: | |
Level of interpretation required: | |
Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation: | |
Interpretation required in which jurisdiction? | |
Who pays for the interpretation? | |
Bilateral or multilateral agreements | |
Useful links: |
(This page was last updated on 31 August 2017)
This page was last updated on: