Cabinet Decision

Amending the Mediation Board Act No.72 of 1988

Cabinet approval was granted on September 22, 2022 to introduce regulations to the Mediation Board Act No.72 of 1988 to meet present requirements concerning the appointment of Mediation Board Commission Members, determination of Mediation Board jurisdiction and disputes that cannot be settled and filing cases in court concerning such disputes.

Accordingly, the Bill prepared by the Legal Draftsman has received the clearance of the Attorney General. As such, the proposal made by the Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Minister to publish the said Bill in the Government Gazette and submit the same thereafter to Parliament for approval, was approved by the Cabinet.

The Mediation (Settlement of Civil and Commercial Disputes) Bill

Parliament has passed the Commercial Mediation Centre of Sri Lanka Act No. 44 of 2000 to establish a centre for commercial mediation. However, the Act has not been able to fulfill its intended purpose due to various technical reasons and certain restrictions. At present, voluntary mediation is adopted by many countries to resolve disputes and the most of those countries have taken steps to introduce rules and regulations for voluntary mediation.

Those countries have also enacted laws required to empower their courts to take action against parties who refuse voluntary mediation without acceptable reasons. Focusing on that international trend, the need to introduce new laws into the legal system of the country to encourage voluntary mediation has been identified.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by the Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Minister to initiate the formulation of the Mediation (Settlement of Civil and Commercial Disputes) Bill that will repeal the Commercial Mediation Centre of Sri Lanka Act No. 44 of 2000, and to provide for the provisions of the Act on Voluntary Arbitration of Civil and Commercial Disputes and for matters incidental thereto.

Australian Volunteer Cooperation Programme 2022-2027

The Australian Volunteer Cooperation Programme funded by the Australian Government is in operation in over 26 countries. Grants are made under the programme to make a change through actions carried out at the local level and to assist partner organizations in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. A memorandum of understanding was signed in 2017 to implement this programme in Sri Lanka. The period of that MoU has now ended. As such, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by the President in his capacity as the Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies Minister to sign an affiliated agreement to implement the said programme for another five years in the country.