Custodial deaths and torture need attention at highest Govt. level, says BASL President
The Bar Association of Sri Lanka ( BASL) believes that custodial deaths and torture and amending the Prevention of Terrorism Act ( PTA) require attention of the Government at the highest levels, BASL President Saliya Pieris PC said recently.
In his speech during the inaguration of the National Law Conference 2022 on Fr i d ay, the BASL President said time and again, the nation’s highest courts have delivered rulings on the issue of custodial deaths and torture.
“Despite these rulings and despite numerous interventions by state institutions including the Human Rights Commission, custodial deaths and torture remain a key issue which affects ordinary people, and this adversely affects the reputation of our nation,” he said.
He also highlighted the proposed amendments to the Prevention of Terrorism Act on which the BASL’s views too were sought by the Foreign Affairs Minister. BASL has submitted to the Government detailed proposals on changes which ought to be made to the PTA.
“While the proposed amendment now tabled in Parliament will enable the granting of bail to people in custody for a long period in remand, nevertheless it fails to sufficiently address most of the issues which exist in respect of the PTA, including the lack of judicial oversight over decisions and the abuse of the PTA by State actors,” he said.
Mr. Peiris said the BASL calls upon the Government to incorporate the proposals which it made to the Government on the PTA and also the previous observations made on the Counter Terrorism Act.
This year’s National Law Conference is held under the theme ‘ Resilience, Realignment and Agility in the Legal Profession.’ The theme reflects on the need and the capability of the legal profession to be resilient amidst all challenges, especially challenges brought about by the pandemic.
Many of the topics range around the consequences of the pandemic: The response of the Legal System to the Pandemic, New Developments in Labour Law, New Developments in Investment Laws, Challenges posed to the banking and insurance practices by the pandemic, and Condominium Law and Director’s Liability in the face of the pandemic.
“It is our hope that the issues which are raised in these sessions will offer the participants new insights and will contribute to the development of the law in these spheres,” Mr.Peiris said.
As one of the largest and most influential professional associations in the country, the BASL had been committed to upholding the rule of law and the independence of institutions including the judiciary, he said. The BASL also believed in its obligation to engage with all stakeholders including the Government on matters of interest including legislative changes that were being planned. During the last year the BASL had been actively engaged with the Justice Ministry in this sphere, and had the Justice Minister and the Ministry’s Secretary actively cooperated with the association, Mr. Peiris said.
“The BASL has had its representatives on many sub-committees formed by the Ministry and on numerous occasions shared with the Ministry its thoughts on proposed changes to the law. We recognise the emphasis the government has made on developing the infrastructure of judicial institutions in order to make them better equipped to serve the people,” he added.
Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya PC, Justice Minister Ali Sabry PC, Attorney General Sanjaya Rajaratnam PC, Court of Appeal President Justice Priyantha Fernando, Solicitor General Indika Demuni De Silva PC, BASL Secretary Rajeev Amarasuriya, National Law Conference Chairman Janaprith Fernando and Co- Chair Asela Rekawa were also in attendance.