Courtesy:   AI Overview

During the British Occupation of Ceylon (1796-1948), the judiciary ultimately supported the colonial administration’s “divide and rule” strategy through its judgments. By weakening traditional indigenous systems of justice and elevating Roman-Dutch law and aspects of English common law, the British-controlled courts eroded traditional Buddhist authority and custom, thus aiding colonial objectives and hindering the freedom struggle. 

British judicial system and colonial strategy

• Replacement of traditional systems: After the conquest of the Kandyan Kingdom in 1815, the British extended a unitary judicial system across the entire island. This move effectively replaced the traditional Kandyan justice system and marginalized the role of native officials and traditional laws.
• Hierarchical court structure: A modern, British-style court system was established with a Supreme Court and appellate courts that replaced traditional adjudication methods. The British judicial system also included an appeal to the Privy Council in London as the final arbiter, cementing British control.
• Introduction of colonial-era laws: The British introduced new legislation, such as the Penal Code of 1883, which reflected Victorian-era moral standards. These codes criminalized acts against “the order of nature” and had a lasting impact on Sri Lankan law, with some provisions remaining in place for over a century. 

The Judiciary, the freedom struggle, and the Buddha Sasana

• The 1915 riots: The colonial judiciary played a direct and biased role during the 1915 riots. British officials used the judiciary to quell the unrest by imposing martial law and incarcerating Sinhalese leaders, some without trial. The British government’s subsequent rewarding of officials involved suggested their actions were aligned with colonial policy.
• Weakening the Buddhist establishment: Through judicial and administrative means, the British placed the institutional privileges of Buddhism on an equal footing with other religions, eroding its historically “foremost place”. In court cases concerning religious property, the British judges often relied on Roman-Dutch or English legal principles, undermining traditional Buddhist customary law.
• Favoring elites and divisions: The judiciary’s structure and the administration’s policies created new divisions within Ceylonese society.
  • Favoring certain groups: British policies favored certain segments of the Tamil elite, providing them with more education and government jobs, and later creating political rivalries and communal demands that weakened the national independence movement.
  • Creating a new elite: The British-educated elite, both Sinhalese and Tamil, who worked within the colonial system, were often at odds with more radical, indigenous leaders, which fragmented the independence movement.
• Legal obstacles for the poor: The British judicial system introduced complex and expensive legal procedures that favored the wealthy, making access to justice difficult for the poor. This was particularly evident in matters concerning land and small claims, which benefited the colonial land acquisition agenda. 

       Courtesy:   AI Overview

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