Institutional reform

By Basil Fernando April and May 2022 will be remembered as the most important months in the post-independence era. During this short period the much hoped for people’s awakening expressed itself powerfully. People who wielded authority failed to see the writing on the wall although the wall was just next to the Presidential Secretariat and […]

Can Sri Lanka rise from its constitutional limbo? When Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe accepted to take over as the Head of the Central Bank, in one of his early statements, he said that he would be able to do the expected job if there is no interference from outside. The demand for non-interference is today one […]

An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission to the President of Republic of Indonesia Mr. Joko Widodo President of the Republic of Indonesia Jl. Veteran No. 16 Jakarta Pusat INDONESIA Tel: +62 21 3458 595 Fax: +62 21 3484 4759 Dear Mr. President: The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) supports statement of the […]

An article from Victor Ivan forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission I have penned this article with the view to enlightening the political leaders of the country and those who express ideological views and are interested in the subject, the need for having an objective and pragmatic program for overcoming the crisis facing Sri […]

By Basil Fernando  The Sri Lankan delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) suffered a great setback when its promise to amend the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act, No. 48 of 1979 as amended (PTA) was responded to by the 16 UN special experts calling on the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) […]

By Basil Fernando In two occasions, the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) held in two separate cases decided by the Sri Lankan Supreme Court related to contempt of court that the punishment imposed by the Court amounted to disproportionate punishment and that such punishment amounted to illegal detention. The UNHRC held that on both […]

A Press Release from Voice for Democracy in Sri Lanka (VDSL) and Voice for Justice in Sri Lanka Inc. (VJSL) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Details: Webinar: Pathway to Constitutional Reform: Opportunities and Challenges;                 ව්‍යවස්ථා ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ: මාවත් හා අභියෝග             […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets the repeated allegations of violence by security forces, this time experienced by Ridwan (21) at Nunukan Regency, North Kalimantan Province. The victim was allegedly subjected to violence by 10 (ten) police officers. The violent incident is known to have occurred in several locations, specifically in front of the […]

By Basil Fernando Today, there is a consensus that Sri Lanka has entered into a period of crisis that is worse than it has ever faced in recent history. It is also agreed among most of the people who are highly knowledgeable in the field of economics and financing that this crisis will last for […]

The basic legal argument against the proposal to present the draft Constitution is as follows; The proposal is based on a false premise as it denies the process of the making of the Constitution whereas it must provide everyone and every group of people the right of participation as it is a Constitution of the […]

On November 25, 2021, the Constitutional Court in its judgment Number 91/PUU-XVIII/2020 stated in essence: 1. The Establishment of the Law Number 11 of 2020 concerning Job Creation is contrary to the 1945 Constitution and does not have conditionally binding legal force as long as it does not mean “no amendments have been made within two […]

By Basil Fernando The discussion on the making of a new constitution through an intensely participatory process, as against underhand methods, is now on. These are a few thoughts as a response to some questions that are being discussed. In dealing with the problem of the 1978 Constitution, we are in fact confronted with the […]

By Basil Fernando There are many objections that can be taken against the proposed Code of Criminal Procedure Bill on the basis of the unconstitutionality of many of the provisions of the Bill. Some of these objections are as follow; The essence and core of the Bill is to dispense with the requirements of the […]

By Basil Fernando The proposed Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill to amend the Code of Criminal Procedure Act No. 15 of 1979 will open up a Pandora’s box of serious abuses. In essence what the Bill proposes is to allow Magistrates to dispense with the personal attendance in court of a suspect or accused. […]

An Oral Statement to the 48th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council from the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) Madam President, We wish to bring to the attention of the Human Rights Council that a serious undermining of the rule of law is happening in several countries of Asia such as the Philippines, […]

By Basil Fernando A discussion on the statement made by the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner (HC) for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, at the 48th Session of the UN Human Rights Council on 13th September 2021, was held on the same day in a television programme, and it is now available on YouTube. The moderator […]

A Written Statement to the 48th Regular Session of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre For several decades now, the widespread practice of enforced disappearances has been experienced in several countries in Asia and elsewhere. Despite many attempts by the UN human rights agencies including the Working Group on […]

A Written Statement to the 48th Regular Session of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) brings the issue of arbitrary detention and the degenerated justice mechanisms to the United Nations Human Rights Council focusing on the situation in Bangladesh, which is a Member of […]

By Basil Fernando While Sri Lanka is faced with many crises, the President has acquired the powers to act under the National Security Law by taking emergency powers into his hands. Will that contribute to Sri Lanka’s ever deepening crises or will the situation aggravate, as all power is taken away from everyone else except […]

BY Basil Fernando “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” – Friedrich Nietzsche The word advocacy is used for various purposes and in each case, there is a different connotation attached to it. Commercial advertisements advocate the buying of their products and the promotion of other commercially-related objectives; political parties […]