Anti-corruption Act to be effective from Sept 15

An extraordinary Gazette notification has been issued  by the Minister of Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe announcing the date of implementation of the Anti-Corruption Act.

Accordingly, the new Act will be considered effective from September 15.

Speaking with regard to the legislation on Thursday (September 07) at a briefing session, Minister Rajapakshe interpreted that in spite of the fact that, the law in force in respect to bribery shall only bear on the public sector and politicians, the new Anti-Corruption Act will enable these laws to act mandatory to the private sphere on an equal manner.

The Minister also mentioned that by means of the new Act, in the face instances such as the present Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption arriving at imprecise judgements or abandoning particular cases for multiple reasons, the new commission is accredited to re-conduct investigations and move to direct action.

According to the Gazette, the Assistance to and protection of Victims and Crime Witnesses’ Act is also due to come into force on September 15.  

The Extraordinary Gazette notification released by the Ministry of Justice is as follows: