Sri Lanka Brif/ 20 November 2025 – As Sri Lanka approaches the tenth anniversary of its landmark Right to Information Act (RTI Act No. 12 of 2016) in 2026, the Right to Information Commission (RTIC) has issued a strong public statement highlighting both the successes and the challenges of the country’s transparency regime.
The RTI Act, globally ranked among the best, has empowered thousands of citizens to access information from state and non-state bodies. Its vigorous implementation, supported by the RTIC and affirmed by appellate courts, has been recognised internationally. In 2020, UNESCO’s global report to the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development cited Sri Lanka as a “best practice” model for releasing information in key cases. Similarly, the World Bank has urged the government to uphold the “primacy of transparency,” while the IMF acknowledged RTIC’s role in fostering “an embryonic culture of transparency” among public authorities (Governance Diagnostic Report, September 2023).
Persistent Challenges Undermine Progress
Despite these achievements, the RTIC expressed grave concern over chronic understaffing and the erosion of its financial independence. The Commission, tasked primarily with hearing appeals, operates under statutory safeguards that guarantee autonomy through independent recruitment and a dedicated fund (Sections 13(3) and 16 of the Act). However, successive governments have failed to implement these provisions.
“No dedicated fund has been allowed to operate,” the statement notes, adding that the Commission has been functioning with a skeleton staff—just one legal officer and two legal assistants initially, later increased to three—despite a growing caseload. Requests for additional legal staff and essential positions, including an IT assistant, have been ignored. In one instance, forwarding recruitment requests to the Ministry of Finance was delayed by eight months.
Further, the RTIC criticised the removal of its separate budget line item, which was granted in 2017 but later subsumed under the nodal agency, undermining financial and functional independence.
Misleading Media Reports Spark Outcry
The Commission also condemned recent media reports based on an inaccurate English translation of its official Sinhala response to a parliamentary question. The reports, published on 11 November 2025, wrongly suggested that the RTIC had failed to address appeals. In reality, of the 1,306 appeals received between January and September 2025, 1,157 were concluded, while 308 were adjourned for legitimate reasons such as party requests or legal complexity. By mid-November, adjourned appeals had dropped to 244, with total appeals rising to 1,538 and concluded cases to 1,304.
“Reporting ‘adjourned’ appeals as ‘failing to attend to’ is a serious misrepresentation and a deliberate interference with the RTIC’s quasi-judicial appeal function,” the statement asserts. The Commission exercised its Right of Reply on 13 November, but newspapers have yet to publish the correction, violating media ethics.
Warning Against Dilution of RTI Rights
In its concluding remarks, the RTIC warned that any attempt to amend the RTI Act to dilute citizens’ right to information would undermine Article 14A of the Constitution and reverse hard-won gains in transparency.
“Any such move will be to the detriment of citizens and constitute a grave setback to progressive gains made so far under the RTI regime,” said Director General K.D.S. RuwanChandra, speaking on behalf of the Commission.
For more details on RTIC’s budgetary allocations, visit: https://www.rticommission.lk/web/images/pdf/Budget/Annual-Budgetary-Allocation-and-Expenses.pdf.
Read the statement as a PDF: Public Statement -English_251120_152915