Liyanage Champika Harendra Silva vs W.M.M.B. Weerasekara – CA WRIT/266/2021-2023

In the case between Liyanage Champika Harendra Silva (Petitioner) and the Registrar General of Marriages, Poorna Sewvandi Nagasinghe, and others (Respondents), the court addressed the issue of whether a divorce decree issued by a competent foreign court (England), relating to a marriage registered in Sri Lanka, may be recognized in Sri Lanka. It was held that no legal bar exists to the recognition of a foreign divorce, provided the foreign court is established as a “competent court” under Section 19 of the Marriage Registration Ordinance No.19 of 1907, and that recognition is not in conflict with public policy or the requirements of Sri Lankan law. The reasoning clarified that the reference to “some competent court” is not restricted to domestic courts and may include foreign jurisdictions