Cooray vs. Human Rights Commission and Another – sllr 2012 volume 2 page 095

The case between COORAY (Plaintiff) and the HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION and Another (Defendants) addressed the issue of whether the Court has jurisdiction to issue a Writ of Mandamus compelling the Human Rights Commission to act under Section 15(8) of the Human Rights Commission Act. It was held that no statutory or public duty exists for the court to intervene by mandamus under these circumstances, reaffirming the principle that judicial intervention through mandamus requires the existence of an unfulfilled legal duty. The decision relied on the interpretation of Section 15(8) and considered the evidence that the Human Rights Commission had already complied with any reporting requirements, emphasizing that mandamus will not lie where statutory compliance is shown and no further judicial compu