In a landmark judgment that could redefine environmental accountability in South Asia, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has ordered non-state actors — including the owners, operators, and local agents of the ill-fated MV X-Press Pearl — to pay $1 billion as interim compensation to the Sri Lankan treasury.
The ruling relates to the catastrophic maritime disaster in May 2021, when the Singapore-flagged cargo vessel caught fire and later sank off the Western coast of Sri Lanka, unleashing what experts have described as the worst marine pollution event in the island’s history.
The verdict followed the hearing of four Fundamental Rights petitions filed by fishermen, Catholic clergy, and environmental groups. Among the petitioners was Sri Lanka’s most senior Catholic prelate, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith. Nearly 20 respondents were named, including former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa (represented by the Attorney General), several ministers, senior public officials, and heads of agencies responsible for marine environmental protection. The vessel’s owners, operators, and local agents were collectively referred to by the Court as the “X-Press Pearl Group.”
Upholding the “polluter pays” principle, the Court found that both the X-Press Pearl Group and state actors had violated the fundamental rights of the petitioners — and, by extension, the people of Sri Lanka. In a rare move, the Court also ruled that Sri Lanka’s Attorney General’s Department (AGD) had violated citizens’ rights by failing to pursue appropriate legal action against the responsible parties.
