Special unit to implement three-year judicial reform programme

A special unit is to be set up under the Ministry of Justice to implement a Judicial Reform Programme within a period of three years with the assistance of legal experts. A proposal made in this regard by Justice Minister Ali Sabry has been approved by Cabinet. 

The Government stated that it appears that delays in the judicial process in Sri Lanka have severely affected the people involved as well as the country's economy. In 2016, the National Law Committee presented a report on the various issues that cause delays in cases, the adverse consequences that result from these issues, and the proposed solutions. By the end of 2019, there were 766,784 pending cases in the courts of the country and urgent action should be taken in this regard, it noted.

It has been identified that necessary steps need to be taken through infrastructure development, legal reform, judicial automation and capacity building to address the issues that cause delays in cases.

Accordingly, taking into consideration the proposal made by the Minister of Justice, the Cabinet approved the establishment of a special unit under the Ministry of Justice to implement a Judicial Reform Programme within a period of three years with the assistance of legal experts.