News
Revised Anti-Terror Bill before Parliament next week
View(s):- Significant features: No validity in court for confessions made to police, detention orders initially only for 30 days
By Damith Wickramasekara
A revised Anti-Terrorism Bill will be among eight bills—four of them amendments to existing laws—due to be presented to Parliament in the first sitting week of the New Year starting next week, Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe told the Sunday Times.
The drafts that are due to be presented this month are the Anti-Terrorism Bill (for the first reading); the National Hydrographic Bill; the Contempt of a Court Tribunal or Institution Bill; the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation Bill; the Recognition and Enforcement of International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation Bill; the Notaries (Amendment) Bill; the Powers of Attorney (Amendment) Bill; the Prevention of Frauds (Amendment) Bill; and the Mediation Board (Amendment) Bill. All the others are for the second reading in Parliament, he said.
The new version of the Anti-Terrorism Bill had been amended according to ideas and concerns expressed by various stakeholders and the diplomatic community, the minister said. The bill would be presented to Parliament for its first reading next week and could also be challenged in court, he added.
The minister said several new features significantly differed from the prevailing Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). Accordingly, under the new bill, the Minister of Defence will no longer have the power to issue detention orders. That power will be vested with the Defence Ministry Secretary, who will issue detention orders based on the recommendation of the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
In terms of the new draft, confessions made to a police officer will no longer be admissible in court.
The bill will also include a definition of what constitutes terrorism. “Since there is no internationally recognised definition of terrorism, the definition of terrorism in the bill will be our own version,” the minister said.
The period that a suspect can be held under a detention order will also be reduced to 30 days from the prevailing 90 days. If the police wish to detain a suspect beyond this period, they must go before a magistrate and seek an extension of the detention order for an additional 30 days.
The government is also introducing a National Hydrographic Bill designed to give specific obligations to Sri Lanka under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea. The bill will see the establishment of a National Hydrographic Office, which, among other functions, will be responsible for the provision of hydrographic services required by the convention, produce and maintain accurate nautical charts for the safe navigation of ships, and provide information about water depths, underwater features, coastlines, hazards and aids to navigation.
Minister Rajapakshe said the government lost between Rs. 60 billion and 70 billion each year due to vessels having to purchase Sri Lanka hydrographic maps made overseas. He said the new bill would enable these maps to be made locally for the benefit of vessels using Sri Lankan waters and enable the country to keep these funds in Sri Lanka.
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