Government Registered Medical Officers Association and Another V John Seneviratne Minister of Health and Others – sllr 2003 volume 3 page 349

In the case between Government Registered Medical Officers Association and others (plaintiffs) and John Seneviratne, Minister of Health, and others, including the Sri Lanka Medical Council (defendants), the court addressed the authority of the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) to de-recognize the M.D. degree conferred by the St. Petersburg State Medical Academy under the Medical Ordinance. It was held that the SLMC does not have unilateral authority to de-recognize such qualifications; the proper procedure under section 19(c) of the Medical Ordinance requires only a recommendation to the Minister. Any deviation from this prescribed statutory procedure constitutes an ultra vires act, rendering such decisions unlawful and invalid. The decision reaffirmed that the statutory mechanism must be f