Section 102 (3), however, provides a condition precedence to these actions, viz, the person interested in filing action shall present a petition to the Government Agent of the district in which the disputed temple is situated. Unless the Government Agent certifies that an inquiry has been held in pursuance of the said petition and it was reported by the Commissioner who was appointed to inquire in to this matter has reported – (a) (b) that the subject-matter of the plaintiff is one that calls for the consideration of the court; and either that it has not proved possible to bring about an amicable settlement of the questions involved, or that the assistance of the court is required for the purpose of giving effect to any amicable settlement that has been arrived at. Under section 103 the ordinance provides for an arbitration mechanism by empowering the courts to refer the disputes for arbitration or inquiry. The Trust Ordinance provides for a summary inquiry in relation to disputes of control, management and other rights of a place of worship by a Commissioner appointed by a Government Agent. There are also provisions for the courts to refer a dispute to arbitration. By these procedures a dispute relating to a place of worship is dealt with expeditiously and disputes that cannot be settled are tried in courts. Similarly in Mosques and Charitable Trusts or “Wakf” Ordinance and Buddhist Temporalities Ordinance adequate provisions are made to settle disputes expeditiously. Places of Christian worship A majority of the denominational churches have been conferred with corporate personality by respective enactments of Parliament. The Catholic Archbishop is a body corporate. The Church of Ceylon (Incorporation) Act No 43 of 1998 (which repealed the Church of England Ordinance, the Episcopal Churches Ordinance and the Church of Ceylon Act) confers on the Bishop of Colombo and the Bishop of Kurunegala legal personality to hold property. Jaffna and Batticaloa Come under the Diocese of Colombo. The Methodist Churches and the Church of South India remain as unincorporated associations, though they have the corporate personalities of the Methodist Trust Association, and the American Ceylon Mission respectively to hold property on their behalf. The Assemblies of Gods of Ceylon and the Ceylon Pentecostal Mission are also bodies corporate capable of holding property. In addition to these, a large number of local Churches are now functioning in the country. Some of them are incorporated as Association under the Companies Act No 17 of 1982. Some are trusts that are incorporated under section 115 of the Trust Ordinance and others are unincorporated associations and have different mechanisms by which their properties are held. The most common of these is for a group of persons from the church to hold the property in trust. In areas where private land is not available for purchase, churches have places of worship constructed on state land that has been given to a member of the church on a permit. Ordinarily this would amount to a non-compliance with the conditions of permit as it is used for a purpose not authorised. But if a construction of a dwelling place is permitted for the cultivator to reside, then he can claim the fundamental right to hold worship services in his private property under Article 14(1) (e) of the Constitution. Our view is that the present laws are adequate to address any possible issue. It has also been reported that unauthorized persons are occupying some properties belonging to places of worship. If the trustees, managers or worshippers wish to reclaim those properties, they will have to institute regular action to evict such persons. In these cases, we recommend that such disputes be referred to an alternate dispute settlement mechanism that will look into the claims of both sides. 28