Sri Lanka, Oct. 5 -- The Supreme Court has emphasized that the best interests of a child must be a paramount consideration in determining matters concerning children, as recognized under international law and Section 5(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act No. 56 of 2007.

The Court made this observation while permitting the withdrawal of an application challenging the refusal of an adoption order for a child who had already completed 14 years and 20 days, and directing that a fresh adoption application be considered by the District Court of Balapitiya without being bound by the previous judgments.

A three-judge Bench comprising Justices Yasantha Kodagoda, PC, Arjuna Obeyesekere and Menaka Wijesunder...