Says plaintiff Irish Company had abused jurisdiction:
Law & Order
Dilshan Tharaka
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The Attorney General yesterday sought from the Colombo Commercial High Court to dismiss the case filed against an aircraft belonging to Russia’s ‘Aeroflot’ airline.
He further added that if further issuance of orders by the Sri Lankan Courts regarding the Aeroflot aircraft would be contrary to Sri Lankan government policy and would be prejudicial to bilateral agreements reached between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Government of Russia.
He also pointed out that the bilateral agreements reached by the both parties to allow Russian aircraft to enter and fly freely in the country have been violated.
Additional Solicitor General Sumathi Dharmawardena appearing on behalf of the Attorney General informed that the Enjoining Order had been dissolved by Court and that the plaintiff Irish company had abused its jurisdiction and obtained a Restraining Order preventing the Russian aircraft from leaving the country by concealing the facts from Court.
The case was taken up before Commercial High Court Judge Harsha Sethunga yesterday.
The Commercial High Court issued an Enjoining Order on June 2 over the Aeroflot flight that arrived in Sri Lanka from Russia following a case filed by an Irish company in Ireland.
The Enjoining Order was lifted on June 6 after the Attorney General appearing before Court on behalf of the flight controller of the Bandaranaike International Airport, made submissions before Court. However, the counsel who appeared for the accused airline informed Court that the flight left for Russia after the censorship was lifted but so far no Russian aircraft has been able to land in Sri Lanka. He added that no flights would be operated between the two countries as the case is still pending in court.
The Deputy Solicitor General informed Court that further orders could not be issued on a matter outside the jurisdiction of Court as the aircraft has now left the country.
The Deputy Solicitor General also stated that there is no case before Court at present.
The Deputy Solicitor General pointed out that the case was based on a dispute between two companies and that the legal status of the settlement was different.
Russian Airlines also filed a written objection in the Colombo Commercial High Court yesterday against the lawsuit.
Additional Solicitor General Sumathi Dharmawardena stated that the Enjoining Order was obtained by concealing the truth and misleading Court by the petitioners.
After considering the submissions made by the Deputy Solicitor General and the defence, the Commercial High Court Judge stated that the case is a special case and it will be taken up again on July 5 and an Order would be issued on that day.
Wednesday, June 29, 2022 – 01:14
