• Cabinet papers presented on 35-40 amendments  
• Draft of new constitution likely in March  

By Sarah Hannan  [caption id="attachment_112548" align="alignleft" width="300"] Minister of Justice Ali Sabry PC[/caption] Sri Lanka is finally taking measures to amend its archaic laws. Amendments to various acts and ordinances will be drafted including crucial suggestions that have been made over the past few years.  Minister of Justice Ali Sabry PC returns to The Sunday Morning Hot Seat to discuss the record number of legislative amendments taking place at present, as the justice system in Sri Lanka undergoes a complete overhaul in reforming the double-centuries-old acts and ordinances.  Following are excerpts of the interview: 

How many laws are to be amended overall? 

There are three dedicated committees appointed from the Justice Ministry itself, that is the Law Reform Committee, Criminal Law Reform Review Committee, and Commercial Law Reform Committee, which will, from time to time, identify the requirements and the need for amendments. Thereafter, from time to time, we will appoint a subject-specific expert committee to look into these amendments.  The overall progress at present is that we have already started presenting cabinet papers pertaining to about 35-40 amendments. 

The Government is looking at amending the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). What areas are to be amended? 

The PTA does not fall under my purview, as it is a subject that is overlooked by the Ministry of Defence and Public Security. Various aspects of it have been discussed, and the cabinet paper for that should come from the line ministry.   

What will be the role of your Ministry in the amendment of the PTA Act? 

What happens is the line ministry will submit a cabinet paper, and after the Cabinet approves the amendments, it goes to the Legal Draftsman, which is under the Ministry of Justice. After that, we will get involved in drafting the amendments to the respective act. 

What is the current status of the drafting of the proposed new constitution? 

The expert committee appointed to look at drafting the new constitution is presently working on it. They are working on the concept papers and have identified the critical areas from the previous amendments as well as the public comments that have been submitted, and they are in the process of meeting with the political parties in the country for their representations. So once that happens, hopefully during the month of March, they will be able to draw up the draft. 

The Sri Lanka Police was issued a circular on guidelines to follow when taking legal action over the possession of heroin and cannabis. Are these guidelines currently being followed? 

I believe so. In fact, I met with the Chief Justice, Attorney General (AG), Minister of Public Security (Rtd.) Admiral Sarath Weerasekara, and the IGP (Inspector General of Police) to check the overall process of what is happening, and to primarily address the adjudication process more efficiently and to expedite it. 

What were the suggested amendments that were proposed by the committee that was appointed to deliberate over the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance? 

The proposed amendments to revamp the whole Ordinance are considered in two stages. In the meantime, the immediate issues that we have identified fall under several amendments that we will have to consider – Government Analyst’s reports that are prima facie without evidence, that is, if the defence wants to prove their case but you cut short the time; then whether we could also find a way to produce the evidence and destroy the excess materials or products without having a deterrent from the final outcome; we also consider whether the Excise Commission Department should be specifically given the power to carry out investigations and arrest suspects, because they are also doing so right now.  Then, of course, we need to identify and categorise the different substances and drugs that are in circulation in the narcotic trade, such as methamphetamine, which needs to be identified as a dangerous substance.  Various changes are being discussed which would be accepted as amendments once agreed upon. 

When will these proposed amendments come into effect under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance? 

I am looking at a period of between 30-45 days.  

Has the backlog at the Government Analyst’s Department pertaining to reports of confiscated substances, i.e., drug trafficking, dealing, and possession, for which the hearing of cases faced delays, been cleared? 

The process has been very well handled even amidst the Covid-19 lockdowns that were taking place. I am glad at the way it has progressed so far. In fact, I have appointed a retired analyst – Mrs. Sakunthala Tennakoon – as an advisor to the Ministry, to co-ordinate with the Government Analyst’s Department, who has assisted in clearing the backlog to a great extent.  Hopefully, by the end of March, we should be able to clear the backlog, and from the current six to nine-month turnaround period, our target is to reduce it to 30 days. The reports on the substances can be released within 30 days. 

Reforms have been proposed for the Penal Code on combating sexual and gender-based violence. Have you taken these proposed amendments into consideration? 

The Criminal Law Reform Committee is considering those, as multiple amendments are taking place simultaneously. Right now, we are looking at attending to the urgent amendments that need to be looked into. So, this matter is referred to the Criminal Law Reform Committee. 

Amendments to the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) have been requested for the longest time. What measures have you taken to accommodate these proposals to amend sections of the Act? 

A cabinet paper in this regard has already been submitted. The Cabinet has referred it to the legislative subcommittee, which is to approve it and inform the Cabinet of Ministers, to signify their approval. After which, it will be sent to the Legal Draftsman. 

There were suggestions on appointing female judges to the Quazi Courts. What is the progress on this front? 

I do not want to discuss the technical details of this process, since the Cabinet will take a decision on this. But personally, speaking for myself, there cannot be discrimination between male or female, as both are equally qualified. However, the Cabinet will have to take a call on that. 

The Prisons Act is scheduled to be amended to accommodate a more rehabilitative method rather than the current penalisation method. What changes to the Act can we expect? 

I personally believe amending the Act per se is not going to help with the goals we have with regard to the prisoners and the facilities in place at present. A such, we are looking into a process of how to transform the prison system from a detention facility-based system into that of a correctional facility-based system, so that we could categorise the prisoners – that is, the first offenders, women, and children separately, and the youth offenders separately.  The overall approach that we are going for is to look at whether we can rehabilitate the convicted instead of put them in prison for minor crimes related to possession of narcotic substances in minor amounts, especially those who are addicted to it, rather than those who are dealing or trafficking. So, these offenders will be sent for rehabilitation instead of being sent to prison.  Moreover, we will have to consider how to use the community-based correction facilities for crimes that carry a sentence of less than two years; to send them (convicted persons) to correctional centres in order to rehabilitate them. We are looking at an overall development approach, which is currently being discussed. 

Have any timelines been set to carry out the amendments? 

It is not that easy to give timelines since the Legal Draftsman Department should first receive the initial drafts of these amendments, which has to then be submitted to the stakeholders for consideration. These suggestions should then go to the AG’s Department and the AG should certify the amendments, after which, it will be forwarded to the Cabinet again.  So, it is very difficult to give a timeline. But we have identified the amendments that need to be completed urgently and we are following up with the designated reform committees every two weeks to hold a progress review meeting, which is attended by officials from the Legal Draftsman Department, the Legal Department at the Ministry of Justice, AG, and Chief Justice, in order to monitor the progress of the legislations that are being amended.