Compilation Of Selected Aspects Of The Special Laws Of Srilanka

Professors Lakshman Marasinghe and Sharya Scharenguivel have, with the assistance of several researchers prepared the Compilation of Selected Aspects of the Special Laws of Sri Lanka. Each of the laws included in this book is currently administrated in the courts of Sri Lanka. In that sense the book deals with a living body of laws which govern the day lives of Sri Lankans. The Compilation deals with the Kandyan Law, the Muslim Law, the Thesawalamai and the Buddhist Ecclesiastical Law. The Laws are considered both in their historical and contemporary setting.Kandyan law which originally was the Sinhala law was subjected to a rigorous academic discourse a little more than a century ago by British writers. The early writers. who wrote during the 19th century , wrote out of information received from interviews conducted from those who were conversant in the customs and laws practiced in their own communities. Later writers including the writers of this book benefited from those early writers in understanding the laws and customs that were prevalent at the beginning of British rule. This book whilst reviewing the previous literature is more than a historical account of the Special laws of Sri Lanka. It attempts to place the special laws in the context of the modern legal system and assesses the current application and relevance of these laws.