16 June 2021 08:45 am Views - 96
By Kelum Bandara
The Cabinet has approved a move to establish a new type of court called ‘small claim courts’ to hear cases below a specific monetary threshold easing the workload of the District Courts, Daily Mirror learns.
Justice Minister Ali Sabry secured Cabinet approval for this purpose. Minister’s Coordinating Secretary Shamir Zavahir told Daily Mirror that this was one area of the justice reform programme initiated by the Ministry.
“The goal is to ease the workload of the District Courts which would then be able to hear disputes of a higher value more efficiently and also to introduce a faster, more efficient procedure for the recovery of smaller claims. This is one of the key areas of focus of the justice reform programme of the Ministry of Justice aimed at reducing delays in settling such cases,” he said. Judicature Act No.2 of 1978 will be amended to provide for the establishment of such courts under the category of ‘court of first instance’.