The ICJ’s Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers reports that, since 1983, the Sri Lankan security forces have been responsible for thousands of killings.
Steps taken to punish those responsible for the atrocities have been manifestly inadequate, the ICJ’s Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers adds.
The ICJ’s Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers reports that, since 1983, the Sri Lankan security forces have been responsible for thousands of killings, and that steps taken to punish those responsible for the atrocities have been manifestly inadequate.
In a 186-page report of a Mission, entitled Judicial Independence in Sri Lanka, the ICJ’s Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers explores the legislation, the legal system, the legal protection of human rights, the independence of the judiciary and the investigation and prosecution of those suspected of human rights violations in that country.
Up to the date of the Mission’s visit to Sri Lanka in September 1997, no one had ever been convicted of murder in any case of assassination perpetrated by members of the security forces, reveals the report. The ICJ’s Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers denounces this situation and urges swift and vigorous prosecution of the perpetrators of these killings and other grave violations of human rights.
The report contains detailed criticisms of emergency regulations and the powers given by the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act. Particularly alarming for the members of the visiting mission were the excessive powers of detention without trial and the lack of proper powers of supervision and control by parliament and the judiciary.
The ICJ’s Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers notes nevertheless that there is a strong culture of judicial independence in Sri Lanka and that arrangements for providing legal assistance to those charged with serious offences are reasonably satisfactory. The report welcomes the recent establishment of a National Human Rights Commission.
The Mission’s conclusions and recommendations are contained at pp. 103-112 of the report.
The Mission to Sri Lanka took place from 14 to 23 September 1997. It was composed of Lord William Goodhart Q.C (UK), a member of the ICJ Executive Committee (who led the Mission); Justice P. N. Bhagwati, a former Chief Justice of India, and Phineas M. Mojapelo, a member of the Judicial Service Commission and Law Commission of South Africa.
