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New laws soon to replace old ones, says PM
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Ranil Wickremesinghe is seen here congratulating new BASL President U.R. de Silva. Attorney General Jayantha Jayasuriya Acting Chief Justice, Eva Wanasundara are also in the picture. Pic by Indika Handuwala
The Government will introduce a host of laws from this year to modernise the country’s legal system, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday.
Speaking at the 43rd Annual Convocation of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) and the induction of the BASL’s new President last evening, the Prime Minister who was the Chief Guest said while Sri Lanka could be proud of having the oldest legal tradition in Asia, the country was far behind others in the region when it came to modern laws. As such, “starting from this year, you’ll find a lot of new laws coming in,” he said.
Among the new laws would be a counter terrorism law to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act and an anti-dumping law. In addition, an Inland Revenue Bill would be tabled in Parliament in May or June, he said. Laws pertaining to the offshore financial city that was being built would also be formulated. Mr. Wickremesinghe urged the BASL to study the proposed laws and make recommendations to parliament’s oversight committees. Mr. Wickremesinghe also said one pressing issue that was being discussed in Parliament was the law’s delays. He said the Government would discuss the matter with both the judiciary and the BASL.
Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe also highlighted the need to minimise delays in the legal system. “While much has been done within the past few years to restore the public’s confidence in the independence of the judiciary, the frustration of litigants regarding the delay in delivering justice remains undiminished,” he said.
The ceremony saw the induction of U.R. de Silva as the 24th President of the BASL. Mr. de Silva said that it was due to the pressure exerted by the BASL that reforms to the entire legal system were being discussed. “Therefore, I treat it as my foremost duty to see that much awaited changes, both in procedural and substantive laws are brought into effect during my tenure,” he said.
Acting Chief Justice, Eva Wanasundara, President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Vijith Malalgoda also addressed the gathering.