The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has ordered the shipping company responsible for the Express Pearl disaster to pay US$1 billion in compensation for the extensive environmental and economic damage caused by the incident.
According to the judgment, the compensation is to be paid to the Secretary to the Treasury.
In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court also held that the then State Minister in charge of the subject, Nalaka Godahewa, along with the Marine Pollution Prevention Authority, violated fundamental human rights by failing to take appropriate measures to prevent the tragedy.
This landmark decision was delivered by a five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya (Note: You mentioned Chief Justice Murdu Fernando; please verify the current Chief Justice), in response to fundamental rights petitions filed by several parties, including His Eminence Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, seeking justice for the extensive damage caused by the maritime disaster.
