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NGO case against Norwegian DPLs could proceed, says Judge
Ruling out diplomatic immunity for former Norwegian Ambassador Hilde Haraldstad and Norwegian Foreign Ministry officials in a case where a Colombo based NGO is seeking Rs. 98.5 million, Colombo Additional District Judge Amali Ranaweera, however discharged six Embassy and Norwegian Foreign Ministry officials.
The case was filed by the Foundation for Co-existence headed by Kumar Rupasinghe. The Court held that the case could proceed against first defendant former Norwegian Ambassador in Colombo Ms. Haraldstad, fifth defendant Norwegian Foreign Ministry State Secretary Espen Barth Eide, sixth defendant Deputy Director General Kjersti Anderson and ninth defendant Foreign Service Control Unit Director Erik Glenne, to recover some Rs. 98,528,065.69 in three separate actions, in respect of failing to honour an agreement between the Foundation for Co-existence and the British and Norwegian Governments.
The petitioner, the Foundation for Co-Existence Guarantee Limited Company said that as the British Government honoured the agreement, the case will be only against the Norwegian Government officials. The court held that the defendants did not contest section 10.4 of the agreement that the first to tenth respondents agreed to resolve any dispute which could not be solved amicably, be referred to the competent court in Sri Lanka.
“Through the agreement, the parties have expressly accepted the jurisdiction of the Sri Lankan courts,” Additional District Judge Ms. Ranaweera held adding that they could not claim the diplomatic immunity later.
The ruling was given on April 30, following which the eleven respondents took up the preliminary objection that they could not be sued in Sri Lanka citing diplomatic immunity. The plaintiff had cited 14 respondents that included 11 Norwegian officials including former Minister Erik Solheim and three UK officials.
According to the plaintiff Britain honoured but the Norway failed to honour the tripartite agreement, signed in June 2008. The two governments, under the agreement, undertook to fund a project promoting peace and co-existence covering the three-year period from 2008 to 2011.
However, the plaintiff stated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs unreasonably and maliciously withheld the money due to the petitioner Association.
The signatories to the agreement were Tore Hattrem, the then Norwegian Ambassador in Colombo, on behalf of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tom Owen Edmunds, Head of the Political and Development Section of the British High Commission, on behalf of British High Commission in Colombo and Dr. Kumar Rupasinghe, on behalf of the Foundation for Co-Existence.
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