Alex De Silva

On the court record

An employment-and-commercial litigation practice combining unfair-dismissal work with company, contract and arbitration disputes.

Alex De Silva practises in employment and commercial litigation, appearing across the High Court (Mahkamah Tinggi) and the Court of Appeal (Mahkamah Rayuan). Industrial relations and employment law are prominent: the reported decisions engage claims of unfair dismissal and the statutory scheme under the Industrial Relations Act 1967, including the reference of a dismissal dispute and the jurisdiction of the industrial-adjudication machinery, together with judicial review of decisions made under that scheme.

The commercial side is varied. The reported catchwords engage company disputes, contract, arbitration and questions of evidence — including an application to give evidence by way of remote communication technology, a procedural question about how a trial is conducted. Appearing as plaintiff, defendant, respondent and appellant, the practice is instructed by employers and employees, and by parties to commercial disputes, in matters that turn on the governing statute and the terms of the parties' arrangements.

The work sits at the meeting point of employment regulation and general commercial litigation. In the dismissal matters the argument concerns whether the termination was with just cause or excuse and whether the adjudicating body acted within its powers; in the judicial-review matters whether the decision-maker acted lawfully and fairly; and in the company, contract and arbitration matters the construction of the agreement and the applicable statutory provisions. Several matters reach the Court of Appeal on questions of law arising below.

The overall profile is an employment-and-commercial litigation practice conducted at first instance and on appeal, combining unfair-dismissal and industrial-relations work with company, contract and arbitration disputes. The matters turn on the Industrial Relations Act, the principles of judicial review, and the construction of commercial agreements, rather than on any criminal dimension, marking a practice that bridges the workplace and the boardroom. The unfair-dismissal work and the judicial review of industrial decisions are the connecting thread, tying the employment disputes to the supervisory jurisdiction the courts exercise over the industrial-adjudication process.