Gotabhaya Rajapakse vs. Attorney General and Others – sllr 2019 volume 2 page 301

In the case between Gotabhaya Rajapakse (Petitioner/Accused) and the Attorney General and Others (Respondents), the court addressed whether the Court of Appeal possesses revisionary jurisdiction, under Article 138 of the Constitution, to review orders issued by the Permanent High Court at Bar. It was determined that statutory interpretation of the Judicature (Amendment) Act No. 9 of 2018—specifically Section 12A and Section 128(1)—limits appellate and revisionary jurisdiction over such orders exclusively to the Supreme Court. The petitioner’s invocation of revisionary jurisdiction was examined alongside his concurrent appeal to the Supreme Court. The holding affirmed that, given legislative intent and constitutional limitations, the Court of Appeal is not vested with jurisdiction to review