Another draft of the Counter-Terrorism Act (CTA) to replace old Prevention of Terrorism Act

Under heavy pressure from the European Council, which is currently evaluating Sri Lanka’s GSP+ application, the Government has produced yet another draft of the Counter-Terrorism Act (CTA) to replace the decades-old Prevention of Terrorism Act.

The latest version omits “espionage” from the list of offences (it had been included in an earlier version) in view of Sri Lanka presently not having a National Intelligence Act. Matters relating to espionage would be more suitably dealt with in the National Intelligence Act, the draft says in an explanatory note.

The amended CTA retains a provision to punish “any person who intentionally and unlawfully distributes or otherwise makes available a message to the public with the intent to incite the commission of a terrorist offence”. This is regardless of whether or not that conduct expressly advocates terrorist offences, but will suffice if it causes danger that one or more of such offences may be committed.

Access to a lawyer, a key concern, remains ambivalent. All police powers allowing them to take bank statements, etc, without applying for an order from the Magistrate, have been retained.  

The new draft explains on its first page that, “In view of the vagueness of the previous definition of ‘terrorism’, the definition has been amended and is now a suitably modified definition of ‘terrorism’ contained in the Draft Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism”.

The word ‘unity’ has also been omitted in the opening paragraph and sub-paragraphs which now reads to include offences which affect the “territorial integrity, sovereignty of Sri Lanka, or the national security or defence of Sri Lanka or the security of the people of Sri Lanka”.

Read the full draft of the revised Counter -Terrorism Act