rule of law

Sources said that road development projects under taken by the CMC, too, had been placed under the supervision of the army to prevent workers from leaving their posts after marking attendance registers. May 8, 2011, 9:37 /By Jayantha de Silva Due to failure on the part of the CMC, the government has placed the Viharamahadevi […]

By Maryam Azwer Almost two years since the end of the conflict, hundreds of people arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) remain in detention. What is of real concern here, is that in many cases, families of those detained have no knowledge of their whereabouts – or even if they are alive. Detainee DilemmaAmong […]

No action by Attorney Gen. to recover duesBy Chandani Kirinde The President’s Fund has been slow in reimbursing medical assistance to patients, even in instances where the directive to expedite such payments came from President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Auditor General (AG) has revealed. “Despite the President’s orders to reimburse medical assistance amounting to over Rs […]

The European Parliament, which represents 27 countries, is to debate on Thursday what it calls violations of human rights and humanitarian laws in Sri Lanka. The “emergency debate” has been sought by 50 members of the Green Party after the release of the report of the three-member UN Advisory Panel to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. […]

By Chris Kamalendran The number of voters in the Jaffna electoral district has dropped by more than 400,000 or by 50 percent of the previous figures, according to latest data collected by the Elections Department. Earlier the voter registry for the Jaffna district had 815,000 voters on the list, but the new one being compiled […]

By Kishali Pinto JayawardeneUnder creeping cover of the report of the Advisory Panel mandated by the United Nations Secretary General (UNSG), the Government of Sri Lanka appears to be leading the country even further down the precipitous slope of constitutional anarchy than it has gone so far. Unhappy comparisons to a rowdy nation. At one […]

07 May 2011Colombo, May 6, (AFP) – Former Sri Lanka cricket captain Hashan Tillakaratne on Friday demanded police protection before he shares information on alleged match-fixing with authorities. “As an eyewitness to match-fixing, I will reveal the names of those involved if my security is guaranteed,” Tillakaratne told reporters after the Criminal Investigations Department grilled […]

07 May 2011 00:00By Susitha R. Fernando Former Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva yesterday warned that the proposed 19th Amendment to the Constitution was a serious interference by the President in the independence of the judiciary. He said if the proposed Amendment was introduced it would allow the President to limit the term of office […]

06 May 2011Foreign passport holders must continue to register with the Ministry of Defence in order to enter Jaffna despite the war against the LTTE ending three years ago. A group of Foreign passport holders who were born in Sri Lanka told News Now.lk that they were turned back at the Omantai check point while […]

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has extended the mandate of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) by a period of six months in view of the large number of persons from Sri Lanka and abroad still to give evidence before it. In May 2010, President Rajapaksa appointed the eight-member Commission to report on the lessons to […]

May 3, 2011,By Ajith Alahakoon The President’s Fund has spent a sum of Rs. 1,520 million, during the years 2008 and 2009, without obtaining the consent of its controlling board, the Auditor General says. The AG’s report on the President’s Fund for 2009 points out that a sum of Rs 843,846,792 was spent in 2008. […]

2011-05-03Mr Speaker, The UNP wishes to place its views on the Advisory Report of the Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka, before the House at this preliminary stage, when some critical decisions have to be made by the Government. Let me briefly recap the background to the current problem. During the last […]

The UN report has returned us to that moment, and if intelligently and constructively used may help us explore roads not taken, toward a better, brighter and kinder future for all its citizens.  by Darini Rajasingham Senanayake It was my sense after May 18, 2009 when the LTTE was defeated that Sri Lanka was missing […]

A Citizens’ initiative based on consultations in the various regions of the country by Dr. Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake, Dr. Fara Haniffa, Dr. Devenesan Nesiah Preamble Publish Post Sri Lanka was long famous for its rich social diversity and the harmonious co-existence of various communities. Since independence, however, there has been a failure to define and realize […]

02 May 2011, Two veteran Ilangkai Thamizh Arasuk Kadchi (ITAK) politicians, C.V.K Sivagnanam and Mavai Senthirajah, on Sunday urged international supervision of a process that guarantees both a proper negation process and the implementation of results in the talks between the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL). The two officials […]

02 May 2011 By Sandun A. Jayaekera President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday charged that external forces were trying to destabilize Sri Lanka by throwing allegations of Human Rights violations and war crimes. Addressing the UPFA May Day rally at the Colombo Town Hall Grounds, President Rajapaksa alleged that those who wrote reports against Sri Lanka had […]

For the media, self censorship  has become the unwritten rule. No informed discussion takes place giving  different opinions and points of view to the citizenry. The huge state media sector is politically controlled by the ruling party, making them the most partisan media in the country. Thus,  citizens are left without the information that would […]

At another level, significant Rule of Law concerns must be redressed. These well documented concerns are evident in regard to the constitutional balance of power, our legal systems and most importantly in reference to Sri Lanka’s judiciary and the Department of the Attorney General.  By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene It appears to have gone unnoticed that […]

If the Government says that it is flawed as it has been quick to do, surely would not the simplest option have been to issue a sober and calm denunciation of its contents and findings without all this unseemly hysteria?   By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene Could anything have betrayed our desperation more clearly than the […]

By Saroj Pathirana The Attorney General (AG) and the police have been ordered to release all Tamils in custody for longer periods without charges says Sri Lanka’s Chief Justice (CJ). CJ Asoka de Silva said he has taken measures to provide relief to the Tamil detainees during his two-year tenure in the office. “We have […]

By Saroj Pathirana Efforts to reduce the sweeping powers of the executive president failed due to the actions of Sri Lanka’s opposition, says the chief justice. CJ Asoka de Silva said the status quo of the 1978 constitution that authorised the executive president to make all senior appointments to the judiciary was re-established by the […]

Sunday Leader that acting on instructions, votes for President Rajapaksa were polled a couple of hundred times from a single computer. This was then repeated from other computers too. By Maryam Azwer 1) Rain, South Korean pop star, 2) Jay Chou, Taiwanese director, singer, songwriter, 3) Susan Boyle, British singer, 4) Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of […]

Apr 23, 2011 (LBO) – A much respected retired Sri Lankan business executive, financial professional, Chandra Jayaratne, has written President Mahinda Rajapaksa to stop state plans to build a controversial pension fund by dipping its hands into the salaries of private sector workers.Jayarante has been actively campaigning to improve the liberties of all the people […]

20.April.2011After the Mannar Headquarters police took into custody three youths as suspects on a complaint made to the police by a female District Secretary that she was sexually molested, the Minister for Industries and trade, Rishard Badurdeen and his supporters had raided the police station and forcibly removed the three suspects in police custody and […]

The report on Sri Lanka which was submitted by the UN Expert Panel appointed by the General Secretary Ban Ki Moon was prepared under the influence of bribes by LTTE sympathizers according to the National Freedom Front Leader, Minister Wimal Weerawansa.  He claimed that according to information that has been received, the LTTE supporting Tamil […]

Finally, who ever has heard of Rain, the South Korean songster who takes precedence over our great leader in the Time Poll of the 100 most influential personalities in the world? An official government release on this stresses that the president is the leading politician in the poll. Now at number 2, he has seen […]

Basil FernandoCan there be development in the modern context without law? This is a relevant question in today’s context where is lot of talk of development on one hand but where there is lawlessness in the country. Can development and lawlessness co-exist? In answering this question it is better to have a glance at the […]

The politics of habeas corpus and the marginal role of the Sri Lankan courts under the 1978 constitution The protection of the freedoms of individuals and the functioning of public institutions are therefore deeply linked. The public institutions, if they are managed for the achievement of various goals of the government, such as development, national […]

Three senior police officers transferredSuspect left minister’s staff on Thursday – Press Secy By Lal Gunasekera Three top police officials have been transferred with immediate effect over their failure to take action against extortionists. Officers of the Colombo Crime Division on Sunday arrested Public Relations Minister Mervyn Silva’s Parliament Affairs Secretary Jayasena Mudiyanselage Buddhi and […]

By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene Very few thinking people in Sri Lanka will assert in all good conscience that the office of the Attorney General has been free from political controversy as a matter of historical fact. That last rider is important lest it should be thought by a misguided few that all the evil began […]