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Bar Association adopts draft Contempt of Court Act
A draft Contempt of Court Act was adopted at the Bar Council meeting of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) this Saturday following its finalisation by a special committee of BASL.

The draft was adopted by the Council with minor amendments.The special committee comprised Dr J. de Almeida Guneratne, P.C. (Chairman) with attorneys Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena (convenor) and J.C. Weliamuna (member). BASL President Desmond Fernando also participated in the deliberations of the committee over several months last year.

Assistance in comparative analysis of contempt laws around the world was given by the British law firm of Kirkland and Ellis International LLP and by the London based INTERIGHTS.

It will now be sent to the Government and Opposition parties with a view to its presentation and enactment in Parliament. Its contents re-iterate well established principles commonly part of the Indian and British statutes on contempt which have now been in force in those countries since 1971 and 1981, respectively.

Some of these principles include the stipulation that a person shall not be guilty of contempt of court for publishing any fair comment on the merits of a case which has been heard and finally decided or engaging in honest and fair criticism on a matter of public importance or public concern or fair criticism of the legal merits of judicial decisions.

In reference to the much abused sub judice rule, the draft states that a publication made as or as part of a discussion in good faith of public affairs or other matters of general public interest will not amount to contempt of court if the risk of impediment or prejudice to particular legal proceedings is merely incidental to the discussion.

In addition, it provides that, subject to some narrow exceptions, no court may require a person to disclose, nor is a person guilty of contempt of court for refusing to disclose, nor may any adverse inferences be drawn against him/her consequent to such refusal to disclose the source of information contained in a publication for which that person is responsible.

The draft also prescribes fair procedures for contempt inquiries and (save as otherwise expressly provided for in the act or in any other law) limits punishment for contempt to simple imprisonment up to six months or with a fine which may extend to Rs. 20,000 or with both.

It also mandates that where a sentence of imprisonment is imposed by a court, specific reasons must be given that a sentence of imprisonment alone is called for in the facts and circumstances of the case.

Other draft laws on contempt incorporating similar principles had been submitted by the Editors Guild, the National Human Rights Commission and civil society groups to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Contempt chaired by late Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, which sat for a short period in 2003 following public demand for codification of contempt laws.

However, following the dissolution of Parliament late that year, the committee also lapsed and was not re-constituted thereafter. Increased public pressure to enact a Sri Lankan contempt of court law has been manifested in recent times with the United Nations Human Rights Committee also calling upon the Sri Lankan Government to respect its obligations in terms of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

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