Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd. v. Felicia Kariyakarawana – sllr 2006 volume 2 page 359

In Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd. v. Felicia Kariyakarawana, the court addressed whether an action for defamation (actio injuriarum) could survive the death of the original plaintiff, considering the legal maxim “Actio Personalis Moritur cum Persona,” and whether the substitution of the plaintiff’s wife was permissible before litis contestatio had occurred. It was determined that the litigation had not reached the closure of pleadings or the framing of issues before the plaintiff’s death, and therefore the right to pursue the defamation claim did not devolve upon the plaintiff’s representative. The decision reaffirmed that defamation actions are strictly personal and cannot be continued after the plaintiff’s death, pursuant to established common law principles and the procedural requ