Cornel & Company Limited. v. Mitsui and Company Limited and Others – sllr 2000 volume 1 page 057

In the case between CORNEL & COMPANY LIMITED (Plaintiff-Appellant) and MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED and other respondents, the court addressed whether the High Court possessed jurisdiction under section 2(1) read with item (1) of the First Schedule of the High Court of the Provinces (Special Provisions) Act, No. 10 of 1996, specifically regarding actions for annulment or denial of a debt. The court held that the High Court indeed had jurisdiction over such actions, with a broader interpretation of item (1) required due to ambiguous and inconsistent statutory language between the Sinhala and English texts. The principle affirmed is that claims relating to or involving debts, even if not solely for recovery, are encompassed within the High Court’s jurisdiction. This decision relied on the ling