Wimalasena v. Navaratne and Two Others – 1978_79 volume 2 page 010

In the case between Wimalasena (Plaintiff) and Navaratne and Two Others (Defendants), the court addressed whether, under the Industrial Disputes Act, the Minister of Labour possessed the statutory power to compulsorily refer an industrial dispute for arbitration pursuant to section 4(1), despite ongoing proceedings before the Labour Tribunal, and whether such reference constituted interference with judicial process. It was held that the Minister’s power under section 4(1) to refer disputes for arbitration could be exercised even while a Labour Tribunal inquiry was pending, provided the exercise was bona fide and within statutory authority, and such action did not interfere with the judicial function of the Tribunal. The principle reaffirmed was that administrative intervention via statutor