⚖️ Sri Lanka Enacts Landmark Civil and Commercial Mediation Law

The Parliament of Sri Lanka unanimously passed the Mediation (Civil and Commercial Disputes) Bill on 11 June 2026. Introduced by Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara, the new law establishes a disciplined, globally recognized framework for alternative dispute resolution (ADR), aiming to ease massive gridlocks in the judiciary. • Overall Backlog & Economic Impact: Sri Lanka’s formal courts face a staggering backlog of over 1.1 million pending cases. Chronic judicial delays directly disrupt the local business climate, contract enforcement, and foreign direct investment. • Core Framework & Legal Validity: The law recognizes voluntary mediation for high-value disputes based on international best practices from the UN Mediation Convention (Singapore Convention). Signatures on mediated settlement agreements are now legally valid and enforceable as a court decree, bypassing traditional litigation. • Operational Guarantees: Ensures total confidentiality, arbitrator neutrality, and party autonomy. Court judges hold discretionary power to refer civil disputes to private mediators without coercing final outcomes. • Strict Category Exemptions: A total of 11 action categories—including marriage termination, nullity declarations, child adoptions, and land partition—cannot be conclusively settled outside of standard court decrees. • Institutional Growth: The local private sector led drafting efforts alongside the International ADR Center (IADRC). Professional training is scaling rapidly, with 125 District Judges and a growing network of lawyers completing certified mediation and non-adversarial advocacy programs.