The Hon. Attorney General vs. Lanka Tractors Limited & Globe Commercial Trading Limited – SC CHC APPEAL 3/2000-2010

In the case between the Attorney-General (representing the State) and Lanka Tractors Limited and Globe Commercial Trading Limited, the issue addressed involved the enforceability of clauses 9 and 10 of Agreement P7, specifically whether an undertaking by the Secretary to the Treasury bound the State. It was held that the Secretary to the Treasury, acting with full Cabinet approval, possessed sufficient authority for the execution of the agreement and that such undertakings were binding on the State. The Court dismissed the State’s appeal, reaffirming the principle that a public officer, when authorized through Cabinet approval, may enter into agreements that are enforceable against the State. Reliance was placed on statutory provisions, the Conversion of Public Corporations Act, constituti