Ceylon Shipping Lines Ltd vs Island Wide Tours and Travels Pvt. Ltd – CA 48/97 F-2011

In Ceylon Shipping Lines Ltd. v. Island Wide Tours and Travels Pvt. Ltd., the court addressed whether the plaintiff’s action to recover sums allegedly due from the defendant as a sales agent of airline tickets was prescribed under Sri Lankan law. It was determined that the District Court’s application of the one-year limitation under section 8 of the Prescription Ordinance was incorrect. Instead, the judgment established that the appropriate limitation period was three years, reaffirming the principle that the one-year bar applies only to actions based on the sale and delivery of physical goods or book debts of a similar nature. The decision relied on J E Perera v M M Zainudeen, and clarified that claims for agent commissions or unjust enrichment are subject to a three-year prescription pe