Efficient and effective criminal justice system needed - Law Faculty Dean

Rohan MATHES

COLOMBO: If an efficient and effective criminal justice system fails to arrest and eliminate, or at least reduce the crime wave, the country may lead to a haven of lawlessness and crimes, observed the Dean of the Law Faculty University of Colombo N. Selvakumaran, when he addressed the 14th Annual General Meeting of the Asia Crime Prevention Foundation Sri Lanka, as Chief Guest, at the Galle Face Hotel last week.

Selvakumaran said that there is a perception that crimes are increasing and to arrest that trend, one would have to diagnose the causes for that deterioration and also the causes for failure in averting such crimes.

The drawbacks in the criminal justice system should also be assessed as the two are inseparably intertwined with crime prevention.

Besides Mediation Boards, the Police, Judiciary and the Prisons are the three main institutions directly responsible for and involved in crime prevention and criminal justice. They will achieve their overall objectives only if they function in unison with one another.

Outlining broadly the various types of crimes under trans-border, terrorism, computer and drug offences related crimes, human smuggling, crimes affecting the financial stability of the country, money laundering, arms trafficking, murder, attempted murder, grievous hurt, rape and abduction among others, he said that the ethnic conflict, the use or abuse of narcotics, poverty, the failure of the justice system, mainly due to its adversarial procedural nature, delay and other technical issues relating to the conduct of cases, lack of proper Prison facilities, the media and cinema and access materialism and consumerism have contributed to these crimes committed.

"The Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary should in no uncertain terms make it clear, through their words and deeds, that they will not put up with any attempts to compromise the crime prevention and criminal justice system in the country.

They should show their utmost opposition to any action which promotes lawlessness, which undermines crime prevention and brings to disrepute the criminal justice system of the country", Selvakumar said.

The Dean was of the view that the present Electoral System introduced by the 1978 Constitution and its Amendments, was in a large measure contributory for the lack of commitment and motivation that is warranted from the Police personnel.

The electoral constituency for the election purposes, known as an electoral district was too large, that only a handful may have the wealth and wherewithal to stand for such elections.

At the end of the day, they would have to owe their victories to donations and contributions made by some known and unknown 'well-wishers', who in a majority of cases, are not doing charity for charity's sake.

In most of the cases, they have invested those small donations and contributions with an eye for bigger returns.

"I am of the opinion that until the country changes the electoral system to make it manageable to people with ordinary and average means to participate in the highest policy-making and decision-making forums without compromising their independence, freedom, conscience among others, the present trend of undermining the crime prevention and criminal justice system will continue," he added.