Changing, rechanging regulations on sale of liquor to women triggers campaign
Several petitions challenging the Government’s re- enacted regulation banning the sale of liquor to women in addition to barring them from working in a place that produces or markets liquor, are due to be filed next week and supported in the Supreme Court.
This came after Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera on Thursday issued a gazette notification nullifying his earlier January 10 order permitting women to work in places where liquor is produced or served, and also be able to purchase or be served liquor.
His order came just before a petition seeking an injunction restraining the Minister from issuing this gazette was to be supported in the SC. Lawyers for the petitioners say a fresh petition would be filed next week seeking to undo the latest gazette notification on the grounds of gender bias and discrimination which is a violation of the Constitution.
The drama over changing and re-changing the regulations pertaining to the sale of liquor to women has in fact instigated a campaign over women buying and consuming liquor anywhere, according to lawyers, tourism industry officials and rights activists.
It has raised questions like for instance the Finance Minister’s January 18 regulation re-imposing the ban directly violating Section 12 of the Constitution on equal rights; whether the new rule would apply to selling alcohol to foreign women in hotels and restaurants, and that there could be many other regulations that constitutionally violate the rights of women. As at Friday, restaurants in hotels or outside continued to sell liquor to women, continuing an age- old practice.
The first time this issue came to the fore more than 15 years ago in a Sunday Times Business Desk investigation, reported on April 21, 2002 (see http://www. sundaytimes.lk/020421/bus. html), after noticing a tattered poster at the bar of a local cinema which said alcohol cannot be sold to women and those under 21 years of age. Further investigations revealed that while the law is still valid, retail store owners either ignore it or are totally unaware of such a provision and continue to sell liquor to women, thereby committing an offence, the report said. This April 21, 2002 report referred to Excise Notification 447 of 29.4.1955: Section 12 (c) which says “No liquor shall be sold or given to a woman within the premises of a tavern”.
Speaking to legal experts and others this week, it was revealed that while this 1955 notification was inconsistent with Section 12 of the Constitution (on equal rights), Section 16 of the Constitution provided for old laws to remain as it is. This section under the heading “Existing written law and unwritten law to continue in force” stated that “All existing written law and unwritten law shall be valid and operative notwithstanding any inconsistency with the preceding provisions of this Chapter”.
This implied the 1955 law prevailed even if it infringed on the equal rights provisions in the 1978 Constitution. Subsequently, in December 1979, the Excise Department re-introduced the regulations banning the sale of liquor to women among other restrictions. It is unclear as to why this provision was not challenged at that time in the Supreme Court as unconstitutional, legal experts say.
“Unfortunately the Finance Minister in trying to do the right thing and undo an absurd regulation has triggered many issues even though Section 16 of the Constitution on equal rights clearly bars discrimination on the grounds of sex and provides every reason why such a regulation should be thrown out,” one legal expert said.