COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office
COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office
COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office
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7 MARCH <strong>2012</strong> SRI LANKA<br />
―The body of law relating to marriage consists of the general law, customary law and<br />
personal law. Tamils are governed by the general law in most marriage-related matters,<br />
whereas Kandyan Sinhalese can choose to be governed by the general law or their<br />
customary laws. Muslims are governed by Muslim personal law… The Marriage<br />
Registration Ordinance and the Civil Procedure Code constitute the general law on<br />
divorce. The provisions of the ordinance firmly establish divorce as faultbased [sic] and<br />
case law has reaffirmed this concept. Grounds for divorce under the ordinance are the<br />
following:<br />
� ―adultery;<br />
� malicious desertion; and<br />
� incurable impotence at the time of marriage.<br />
―Cruelty is not a ground for divorce, although it may be a factor in determining malicious<br />
desertion. Physical illtreatment [sic] per se is also not a ground for divorce under the<br />
general law, but it is a cause for legal separation… The Civil Procedure Code<br />
constitutes the general law on judicial separation. The code provides that either party<br />
may petition for separation ‗on any ground on which by the law applicable to Sri Lanka<br />
such separation may be granted.‘…The 1999 Maintenance Act is the general law on<br />
maintenance during marriage… The act requires any spouse with sufficient means to<br />
maintain the other spouse, if such individual is unable to maintain him or herself…The<br />
principles of custody are thus governed by the residuary Roman-Dutch law. The<br />
predominant feature of the common law is the preferential custodial right given to the<br />
father, which may be denied only in instances of danger to the ‗life, health and morals‘<br />
of the children. A mother who seeks custody therefore has the onus of displacing the<br />
father‘s right. On most of these matters there are also more specific laws governing in<br />
particular, Muslims, Tamils and Kandyan Sinhalese.‖<br />
20.10 The same source 341 noted that:<br />
―Roman-Dutch law forms the bedrock of the general law on property in Sri Lanka. The<br />
1923 Married Women‘s Property Ordinance constitutes the general law on matrimonial<br />
property rights. Under the ordinance, a married woman is capable of holding, acquiring<br />
and disposing of any movable or immovable property or of contracting as if she were a<br />
femme sole, without the consent or intervention of her husband. This applies to all<br />
property belonging to her at the time of marriage and property acquired or devolved to<br />
her after marriage. She also has the same remedies and redress by way of criminal<br />
proceedings for the protection and security of her separate property. The 1876<br />
Matrimonial Rights and Inheritance Ordinance constitutes the general law on<br />
inheritance rights. The ordinance provides for equal rights to inheritance for male and<br />
female spouses: upon the death of either spouse, the surviving spouse inherits half of<br />
the deceased spouse‘s property. The extent of the general law‘s application has been<br />
limited by legislation, judicial decisions and the system of customary laws that are<br />
operative in the island. The matrimonial property and inheritance rights of Kandyan<br />
Sinhalese and Tamils are governed by their own systems. Muslims are governed by<br />
Muslim personal law.‖<br />
341 Centre for Reproductive Rights, Women of the World: South Asia, Sri Lanka chapter, undated<br />
http://reproductiverights.org/sites/crr.civicactions.net/files/documents/pdf_wowsa_srilanka.pdf date<br />
accessed 1 June 2011, p225<br />
The main text of this <strong>COI</strong> <strong>Report</strong> contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 3 February <strong>2012</strong>.<br />
Further brief information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section<br />
to 2 <strong>March</strong> <strong>2012</strong>.<br />
137