Perception

“Ignorance of the law is no excuse”. 

No matter who you are, or where you live, you are subjected to laws. You are bounded with laws. It governs our conduct from birth to the grave and sometimes even after death. Therefore, it is important to know about the general law of his/her own country. However, awareness about law among the public is poor in Sri Lanka. So, we as Rotaract Alumni of University of Moratuwa organized “Perception” to create awareness among fellow Rotaractors about general law in Sri Lanka. Rotaract Club of Colombo Central joined us as participants.  

Two supreme court lawyers joined with “Perception” with the aim of making society a better place. Mr. Sanjaya Ranathunga (AAL) is a well-recognized lawyer in Sri Lanka with vast experience in handling various legal matters. Mr. Wishva Widanagamage (AAL) is a young successful lawyer with a wide range of knowledge. The session was held on 22 September 2019 at Coco Space at 2.30 pm. 

Mr. Wishva Widanagamage started the session giving a basic understanding of the law, various types of courts and their powers. He explained how and from where we should seek for legal help considering various current examples. Then continued the session through several key points targeting problems faced by the younger generation in society.  

As a graduate, once a person entered professional life, he/she starts saving money, planning for the future. With or without knowledge, people do various activities for a better future like buy lands, come to various agreements with different parties, make investments and lend money. Mr. Widaagamage noted several key points that a person should consider before coming to any agreement, signing deeds since many people have faced a lot of trouble due to lack of knowledge and irresponsibility.  

The next key point discussed in the session was road rules. People face various troubles as a result of disobeying road rules, and sometimes, unfortunately, face accidents. Mr. Widanagamage briefly described revised fines related to disobeying road rules like drink and drive, driving without driving license, driving without insurance, and forcing an underage person to drive. Then he explained how we should act responsibly during an accident both when the person is victim and victimizer separately.  

Another key point discussed in the session was divorce cases. He explained step by step things that should be completed before filing for a divorce case giving various examples. He willingly shared his experience on divorce cases in Sri Lanka in such a way that the audience can have a clear picture of that matter. 

Since all the participants were employees, as the last key point in his discussion he talked about employee rights; What are EPF and ETF, respective percentages and how an employer is legally bounded to serve the employees.   

Apart from that, Mr. Sanjaya Ranatunga added his experience in handling various legal matters to make the session more interesting which gave an opportunity to the audience to have better insight and guidance to face problems responsibly. He concluded the session stating, “No one can elope “Karma”. No matter what you do. It will definitely come after you. That’s nature.

By: Rtr. Sumadhurie Hansika