The Rotaract Club of Faculty of Law University of Colombo

On 26th of May 2019 early morning we headed to Rakwana, Heatherleigh Estate to initiate the second phase of our signature project on 'Women Empowerment'. Thushyanthi Balasingham from Palmera Projects joined as the facilitator. This estate and its people are like home to us as we initiated both GreeNation and Vidunena with this community. The Phase 1 was an awareness video celebrating International Women's Day where the women of the estate shared their thoughts, difficulties and suppressed voices. Under the Phase 2, Thushyanthi Balasingham, a well experienced facilitator from Palmera Projects, met and personally communicated with all the women of the estate to grasp the level of assistance they require to form the 'Community Women Group'. After the discussions one woman was appointed as the coordinator for the group and she agreed to conduct weekly meetings for the group where they gather and save a certain agreed amount as a community, thereby esta...

Transcending stereotypical notions, the Rotaract Club of University of Colombo ventured to launch Project GreeNation with the intention of growing and maintaining the first ever Rotaract Rainforest in the country. GreeNation was not a mere tree-planting project; rather it looked at growing a rainforest over one acre of land in Rakwana and maintaining it until the ecosystem could survive on its own. GreeNation aims to produce enough pure air for over 1000 people to consume and is a step that is assured to sustain for generations while becoming a home for animal life. It will truly become yet another wonderful element of the Mother Nature. GreeNation was laid out under several phases. The first phase was to clear the paths and make the land ready for plantation. For the completion of the second phase “Kithul” seeds have already been handed over to the caretakers. These seeds will be dispersed to check the condition of the soil in the land area. The plantation process will be...

Leading up to the birth of a child, everyone prepares expectant mothers for it. One thing they don’t prepare them for is Post-partum Depression. Therefore, we took it upon ourselves to do so. While it is a completely common phenomenon, it is rarely discussed in the common context. The stigma surrounding mental health can be seen as the main reason for this. The Rotaract Club of the Faculty of Law University of Colombo and the Rotary Club of Colombo East together with the Arka Initiative conducted a workshop for expectant mothers and the staff at the Kethumathi Maternity Hospital in Panadura. Post-partum depression or past-natal depression is a mental health issue which arises from up to a few days to a few months of giving birth. The symptoms may include severe mood swings, excessive crying, insomnia, overwhelming fatigue or loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, severe anxiety, panic attacks etc. Some cases lead to suicide or harming ...

The award winning club service project jointly organized by the Rotaract Clubs of Faculty of Law of University of Colombo and Chunnakam, “Nanba ‘19” Connecting Cultures, was held for the second consecutive time from the 5th to 7th of April 2019. Planning the project commenced with fixing a date to conduct the project and then, the relevant details were shared on social media platforms to encourage attendance. Upon conclusion of registrations, the transport and accommodation facilities were planned out. The agenda and the necessary equipment to conduct the project were planned later with the joint efforts of both the Clubs. Twenty-two Rotractors from the Rotaract Club of Faculty of Law were on board the momentous journey to Jaffna in the YaalDevi and celebrated the Sinhala and Tamil New Year the following day with the Rotaract Club of Chunnakam in a spirit of friendship and fraternity. Several traditional new year games were conducted, prizes were di...

The project Soundscope is yet another Signature Project of the club, conducted at the Ceylon School for the Deaf and Blind, Ratmalane. This was held on the 3rd April, where the Sinhala and Tamil New Year rituals and games were organized jointly by the Club members along with the staff members of the school. True to the Club Theme for 2018/19, Innovate-Serve-Empower, the project was a success in demonstrating our service and dedication to the stigmatized communities of society.

The 31st of March indeed was a memorable day of the Rotaract calendar as it marked the successful conclusion of the World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD) Celebrations 2019 for the 7th consecutive year. The event was held at Thurstan College, Colombo. Joining hands in this endeavour are the Interact Club of Thurstan College and the Rotaract Clubs of Faculty of Arts of the University of Colombo (UOC), Faculty of Law (UOC), Faculty of Management and Finance (UOC), Faculty of Science (UOC), Faculty of Medicine (UOC), University of Kelaniya, University of Moratuwa, University of Peradeniya, University of Sri Jayawardenepura and the General Sir John Kothalawala Defence University. The event catered to those children who participated from various development institutions as well as individual participants. The event consisted of a Medical Camp, an Art Exhibition, a Variety Show, an Inspirational Session and Entertainment Activities. The free medical camp conducted by specialists...

“In celebration of the World Rotaract Week (March 11th - 17th) ” Being one of the largest youth organisations in the world, the Rotaract Movement has captured the hearts of many enthusiastic young leaders across the globe.   Rotaract was founded fifty years ago, with the Rotaract Club of North Charlotte, Carolina being the first club to be chartered, on March 13, 1968. The new program’s name, Rotaract, was created by Rotary International as a combination of the words “Rotary” and “Action”. The aim of the program was stated to be “to develop leadership and responsible citizenship through service to the community.” Currently the movement has spread its reach to around 180 countries and has more than 10,000 clubs worldwide under its name based on both communities and institutes. Rotaract caters to young adults between the ages of 18-30. As this is the stage at which they explore new avenues in life, Rotaract opens up opportunities for its club members to enhance their ...

An innovative Professional Development project, Leader in Me focused on the development of leadership and team working skills among our very own Rotaractors and making them productive members of society. The project was carried out in two phases, the first phase which constituted of a general discussion conducted by Ms. Bernadine Jaysinghe on effective decision making, stress management, achievement of goals and sharing of experiences and knowledge among the participants. The second session was a Panel Discussion focused exclusively on the undergraduates of the Faculty of Law who would be expected to become legal professionals of the country in the future. The Panel consisted of renowned professionals in the Legal arena, namely, Justice Shiranee Tilakawardane, Presidents’ Counsel Geoffrey Alagaratnam, the Precedent Partner for the F.J & G Saram, Ayomi Aluwihare and Ms. Danushka Medawatte. This discussion was a great success and of significant importance to t...

CONSIDERATION : AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT IN A CONTRACT Introduction Consideration is one of the indispensable aspects of a contract upon which its validity is sustained. Validity of consideration is essential in a contract to guarantee the legal efficacy of the promise shared between two parties. In the case of Currie v. Misa , consideration has been defined as something more than a mere performance of an act, which considers the rights and obligation of each party. Along with the concept of consideration, our courts of law have also recognized justa causa as a distinct principle. The latter in comparison to the former has demanded a wider and subjective approach in terms of validating a contract by including factors such as the morality and benevolence of the contracting parties. Our courts of law by long-rooted judicial practice have applied both concepts in deciding the cases.   Therefore, the following analysis will deal with few issues in consideration such as the valid...