3. 4. 5. Issue of a certificate prior to the filing of a partition action in District Court The co-owner’s prescriptive title should not be recognized for possession during the conflict even if specific ouster is visible. Compensation for improvements made to the property. 10) Lands bought by relatives or others with money sent by people residing overseas who, on their return, claim the land Those people externally displaced continue to be citizens of Sri Lanka having either sought asylum in other countries or having obtained permanent residence overseas. Many, however, intend to return to Sri Lanka and, in advance, buy property here. The applicable laws are: Trust Ordinance No.9 of 1917; and Common law. In these cases, the real purchasers advance the consideration for the purchase of land, but the lands are bought either in the name of a relative who lives in Sri Lanka or in someone else’s name. Problems are likely to arise when they return and claim their land. Section 84 of the Trust Ordinance reads: “Where property is transferred to one person for a consideration paid or provided by another person, and it appears that such other person did not intend to pay or provide such consideration for the benefit of the transferee, the transferee must hold the property for the benefit of the person paying or providing the consideration.” Hence, if the provider of the consideration claims the land, the holder of the paper title to the property should return the land since he holds it in trust for the provider of the consideration. In the event of a dispute, however, proof that the consideration was provided by one person who did not intend to pay or provide the consideration for the benefit of the transferee, becomes a matter of evidence; the burden of which should be discharged by the person who provided the consideration. There is likely to be a long drawn out civil dispute over this issue. Though the law as it stands today is adequate, the mechanism to enforce its provisions (civil litigation in a District Court) may be inadequate, particularly if large numbers of such issues arise for resolution. 11) Forcible transfer of properties There are instances where the owner of a property was forced or compelled during the conflict to transfer the property. In such cases, the applicable laws are: the common law; the Trust Ordinance. During the conflict period, movement of people was restricted and people were not allowed by the armed and political groups to leave the area under their control if sufficient security was not given for the return of the person concerned. People were asked to transfer all the properties they owned to some others if they did not want to return. In circumstances where a person is forced to transfer a property, the contract would be declared void ab initio at the instance of the transferor. The transferor could, therefore, sue the transferee and seek to have the deed of transfer set aside. The problem that would arise, however, concerns the proof of duress, and the fact that the transferor may not have 21