The Supreme Court has ruled that the decision to pursue legal action over the environmental and economic damage caused by the sinking of the MV Express Pearl in the International Commercial Court in Singapore was irrational. The Court has directed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to launch an investigation into the decision taken by the Attorney General’s Department regarding this move.
At the time, former Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapaksa strongly advocated for holding the trial in Singapore. He claimed that an expert committee, appointed to advise on the matter, had recommended the case be pursued in Singapore.
However, during a parliamentary debate held in May 2023, current President Anura Kumara Dissanayake—who was then a Member of Parliament—refuted this claim. He asserted that no such recommendation had been made by the expert committee.
Furthermore, Dissanayake accused Wijeyadasa Rajapaksa of attempting to disrupt the parliamentary debate concerning the Express Pearl disaster.
