Seemasahitha Lankeeya Cinema Shilpeenge Sandhanaya v. Minister of Cultural Affairs and National Heritage – NO. 144/2013-2018

In Seemasahitha Lankeeya Cinama Shilpeenge Sandhanaya and others v. National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka and others, the court addressed whether the National Film Corporation or the Minister possessed the legal authority to promulgate rules or regulations governing the exhibition of films. The court determined that only the Minister, not the Corporation, holds such regulatory powers, which must be exercised in accordance with Section 61 of the National Film Corporation Act through publication in the Gazette and Parliamentary approval. The Corporation’s rule-making authority is limited to matters of internal administration. The purported rules and subsequent exemptions were found not to have followed statutory procedures and thus lacked legal effect. All applications for writs were refuse