16
The Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
shall also be maintained and the proceedings conducted in
a language other than the language of the court.]
(2) Any party or applicant or any person legally
entitled to represent such party or applicant may initiate
proceedings and submit to court pleadings and other
documents and participate in the proceedings in courts,
11
[in either Sinhala or Tamil.]
(3) Any judge, juror, party or applicant or any
person legally entitled to represent such party or applicant,
who is not conversant with the language used in a court,
shall be entitled to interpretation and to translation into
12
[Sinhala or Tamil] provided by the State, to enable him
to understand and participate in the proceedings before
such court and shall also be entitled to obtain in 13[such
language] any such part of the record or a translation
thereof, as the case may be, as he may be entitled to
obtain according to law.
(4) The Minister in charge of the subject of Justice
may, with the concurrence of the Cabinet of Ministers,
issue, directions permitting 14[the use of English] in or in
relation to the records and proceedings in any court for all
purposes or for such purposes as may be specified therein.
Every judge shall be bound to implement such directions.
(5) In this Article –
“Court” means any court or tribunal created and
established for the administration of justice including the
adjudication and settlement of industrial and other
disputes, or any other tribunal or institution exercising
judicial or quasi-judicial functions or any tribunal or
institution created and established for the conciliation and
settlement of disputes;
11 - Substituted by the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution Sec. 4(2).
12 - Substituted by the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution Sec. 4(3)(a).
13 - Substituted by the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution Sec. 4(3)(b).
14 - Substituted by the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution Sec. 4(4).
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