Govt. should adopt pro-active approach to promote human rights and right to information : Dr. Senaratne

The Govt. should adopt a pro-active approach with regard to the promotion of human rights, including the right to information

The re-establishment of the Constitutional Council (which enables the appointment of independen Commissions recognized under the Constitution)

In numerous instances the citizens of Sri Lanka experienced how the Constitution could be interpreted and misinterpreted. The Constitutional Coup which took place last year is an example. The next concern is regarding the 19th Amendment to the Constitution which reduces the powers of the president. In his comments, Dr. Kalana

Senaratne, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Law at Peradeniya

University, opined that when the President and the Prime Minister are from the same political party, the impact of certain provisions of the 19th

Amendment becomes quite feeble

in practice. “The 19th Amendment was designed especially to address the unique situation in 2015, where the President and the PM were from two different parties. So I am not too starry-eyed about certain provisions of the 19th Amendment. However the 19th Amendment has a number of very useful features which should be retained three in particular. Firstly, the right to information (which is part of Chapter

3 now); secondly, the ability to institute fundamental rights cases in relation to the acts and omissions of the President and thirdly, the re-establishment of the Constitutional Council (which enables the appointment of indepent Commissions recognized under the Constitution).”

Human rights and the Right to Information law are two other areas of concern which were discussed to a certain extent during the Sirisena regime. “The government should ideally adopt a pro-active approach with regard to the promotion of human rights, including the right to information,” he continued. “The latter right, in particular, has served a very useful purpose, and one hopes it

would continue to do so in the future. Importantly, Commissions such as the Human Rights Commission and the Right to Information Commission currently comprise of experts who are dedicated to promote human rights. It would be good if the Commissioners of these respective bodies can continue under the present government as well. I am not sure whether that will happen, though. However, one needs to wait and see how the Government would proceed in promoting fundamental rights, without rushing to conclusions,” Dr. Senaratne said.

Dr. Senaratne also agreed to the fact that a Constitutional reform is a need of the hour. “A Constitution which is more acceptable to the ethnic and religious communities in the country, one which does not appear to be privileging any single community or religion over others, one which gives prominence to fundamental rights over personal laws, one which maintains a reformed Presidential system, etc. are some of the broader aspects that should be considered when reforming the Constitution,” he added. “At present, the proper and full implementation of the Constitution (including the 13th Amendment) seems an equally important task. How could one trust the promise of reform, when even the present Constitution is not being implemented in full?” he questioned.