Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c7.6

c7.6

*Justice* The dispensation of justice was organized in a way that would not have been unsatisfactory, had it been always purely administered; every person was at liberty to seek redress, first by application to the headman of the village, next to the chief of the province, to the Adigār, the ‘Great Court’ and finally to the King. But as (1) bribes were often resorted to by both parties in a dispute, (2) fines levied belonged to the chiefs who levied them, and these chiefs received no salary for their services, (3) the chiefs were occasionally required by the King to make extraordinary contributions, necessarily exacted from the people, and (4) the chief, as is the case in the Indian Civil Service to-day, combined judicial and executive functions, it will be seen that opportunities for the miscarriage of justice were not lacking. But the villager is scarcely less at the mercy of the headman now than he was then. Nevertheless in many cases there can be no doubt that substantial justice was obtained; it is said that there were some Kandyan chiefs reputed no less for their ability in the investigation of suits than their integrity in the decision of them. The customary laws regarding marriage, inheritance, crime, slaves, and the like are detailed in the *Nitinighaṇḍuva* (translation, Colombo, 1888), a work of fascinating interest for the study of Sinhalese society.