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Extended life for provisions on missing persons death certificates
View(s):The provisions of the Registration of Death (Temporary Provision) Act passed in 2010 to register the deaths of persons reported missing as a result of terrorist or subversive activity or civil commotion, have been extended for two more years. Home Affairs Minister Vajira Abeywardena has said the temporary provisions law which lapses on December 9 will be extended till December 2019. This is the third extension since the provisions were first enacted in 2010.
The Act allows relatives of persons, who have not been heard of for more than a year, to obtain death certificates. The application for a death certificate should be supported by a report from the Grama Niladhari and an affidavit setting out the grounds for belief that the person, whose death is sought to be registered, is actually dead.
If a person’s death or disappearance has been confirmed by a Commission of Inquiry or a Special Presidential Commission, the next-of-kin can apply to the Registrar General or to the District Registrar of Births and Deaths, and obtain a death certificate. The Act also provides for the registration of deaths of persons believed to be dead as a result of a natural disaster or calamity. It also provides for the registration of deaths of foreign nationals who may have died as a result of natural disasters in the country.