Accountability for policing remains in abeyance

The police function is an essential component in the rule of law and is the most important link in the Criminal Justice System. Hence the question as to who is accountable for the Police function is of paramount importance. Under normal circumstances the Inspector General of Police (IGP) obviously would be held accountable for the police function. But under the 19th Amendment to the Constitution all powers for appointments, promotions, transfers, punishments are vested in the National Police Commission as it was under the 17th Amendment.

It is a universally accepted fact that authority and accountability cannot be separated. Former IGP Dr Frank de Silva has laboured hard to make this point in a Treatise under Accountability in his book, ‘Police Role in Sri Lanka’. I quote some excerpts : “The Law in the Police Ordinance laid down at Sec.20: ‘The administration of Police in Sri Lanka shall be vested in the Inspector General of Police, Superintendents, Assistant Superintendents, Inspectors, Sergeants and Constables.’ The line is clear. This principle governs the Police. Here is even a plain managerial principle. In plain common sense too, authority and responsibility are but one, the two together, each the obverse of the other.

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