Batashoe Company Ltd. vs. Ganesharajah and Others – sllr 2006 volume 3 page 244

In the case between Batashoe Company Ltd. and Ganesharajah and Others, the court addressed whether failure by the Respondents to pay the agreed sum under a consent decree constituted contempt of court under Article 155(3) of the Constitution. It was held that, given the express terms of the consent decree, the appropriate remedy for non-payment was the issuance of a writ and not a proceeding for contempt. The principle reaffirmed is that where parties have stipulated an enforcement mechanism in a consent decree, that mechanism must be pursued in preference to contempt proceedings. Reliance was placed on the wording of the consent decree and underlying jurisprudence regarding contempt, clarifying that a party cannot invoke contempt jurisdiction where an alternative contractual remedy exists