Lanka Maritime Services Ltd. vs Sri Lanka Ports Authority – sllr 2004 volume 3 page 332

In the case between Lanka Maritime Services Ltd. and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority among others, the court addressed whether a fresh application for a writ of certiorari was maintainable when a previous application involving the same subject matter between the same parties remained pending without judicial determination. It was held that, in the absence of a definitive judicial pronouncement on the matter, the filing of a new application is not precluded by legal doctrine or procedural rule. The decision reaffirmed the principle that the doctrine of res judicata applies only where there is a final judicial decision on the same cause of action between the same parties. The reasoning drew upon the Court of Appeal (Appellate Procedure) Rules and relevant precedent, clarifying that multiple ap