All government organs should uphold FRs

Sarath Malalasekera

The Constitution is the Supreme Law of the country which recognizes civil and political rights of the citizens.

These rights recognized under Fundamental Rights Chapter, from part of the Sovereignty of the people are required to be respected, secured and advanced by all organs of the Government, Legal Aid Commission (LAC) Chairman S S Wijeratne said.

He was speaking at a Training and Capacity Building Program for Legal Aid Lawyers held at the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research Institute recently.

The program was funded by the UNDP, the LAC Chairman said.

In addition, other legislations including the Code of Criminal Procedure, Penal Code, Bail Act and the Torture Act also give recognition to certain civil and political rights recognized by the International Law.

The recent enactment of the ICCPR Act No. 56 of 2007, with the objective of giving recognition to certain residual civil and political rights not recognized by the Constitution and other operative laws, have certain implications worth discussing, the LAC Chairman said.

The extraordinary piece of legislation and the controversial issues which led to its enactment are the focal point in the agenda of civil and political rights activism,which also reflects on the emerging trends in the civil and political rights machinery in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan Constitution follows the dualist tradition, any accession of an international instrument has to be followed up by introducing enabling legislation, to give validity to the international instrument in the domestic regime.

The LAC Chairman emphasised that a landmark event which raised serious implications as to exercise of international obligations by the Government of Sri Lanka under the ICCPR, is the pronouncement of the judgment by the Supreme Court in the “Singarasa case”. The training and capacity building program was funded by the UNDP, LAC Chairman S S Wijeratne said.