Wijeyeratne v. Wijeyeratne and Others – sllr 1981 volume 1 page 325

In WIJEYERATNE v. WIJEYERATNE AND OTHERS, the court addressed the validity and interpretation of a fideicommissum under the Last Will of T. A. de S. Wijeyeratne, focusing on whether the testator’s conditional direction to his widow concerning the disposition of specific landed property constituted a valid gift-over in favor of a named son. It was held that the conditional clause in the Will, while conferring a discretionary power on the widow, operated as a legally enforceable fideicommissum given the testator’s manifest intention, provided the condition was not expressly negated. This reaffirmed that a testator’s clear intention can give rise to a fideicommissum even in the absence of strict formalities, as long as the discretion is not absolute and the condition was not actively opposed.