Liyanarachchige Indika Thusara v. The Hon. Attorney General – CA PHC APN 39/2015-2015

In the case between Liyanarachchige Indika Thusara (Manager, Kolonnawa Multi Purpose Co-operative Society Ltd.) and the Hon. Attorney General, the court addressed whether the Petitioner could invoke the doctrine of double jeopardy to prevent criminal proceedings in the High Court after enforcement action for an arbitral award on the same facts in the Magistrate Court. It was determined that the enforcement of an arbitral award through civil execution does not constitute a criminal trial, and therefore, the protections against double jeopardy, as set out in section 314(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code, were not applicable. The court dismissed the application to stay High Court proceedings, reaffirming the principle that civil and criminal proceedings are distinct in law and that double jeo