Sajith flays govt. for litigation in S’pore over X-Press disaster

Opposition and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa, in Parliament, yesterday, asked the government to explain why it had opted to file a case seeking damages from the X-Press Pearl’s owners and operators, in Singapore, which is signatory to an international convention that imposes limits on liability claims.

“It is beyond comprehension how and why the government decided to invoke jurisdiction of a Singaporean court. That country is a signatory to Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims (LLMC). We are not a signatory to this Convention. If the case had been filed here we would not have faced limits on the liability claim. Even a kindergarten child can understand the pros and cons of filing a lawsuit in a court limited by international convention and a court which is free from such obligations,” Premadasa said.