Sunil Basnayaka vs Hatton National Bank PLC – CALA. NO. 01/2013-2013

In the case between Sunil Basnayaka (Plaintiff) and Hatton National Bank PLC and H.D. Priyanthi Fernando (Defendants), the court addressed the issue of whether the Court of Appeal possessed jurisdiction to entertain an application for leave to appeal from a decision of the Commercial High Court. The court held that such jurisdiction was precluded by precedent, and the application for leave to appeal could not be entertained. This decision reaffirmed the principle that the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal is circumscribed by relevant precedent, specifically Senanayaka Vs Koehn 2002 (3) SLR 381. The ruling emphasized that the Court of Appeal must adhere to binding authority on questions of jurisdiction, resulting in the refusal to issue notice on the application and the effective dismissa