International jurists claim SL’s ATA threatens human rights 

• Says ATA if adopted in its current form would risk serious human rights violations
• Claims overbroad definition of terrorism is in contravention of fundamental rule of law principles 
• Stresses SL must dispense regimes like ATA and instead address terrorism through criminal procedures 

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) yesterday said the revisions made to the draft of proposed Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) fail to sufficiently correct the deficiencies of the earlier draft.

“If adopted it would risk serious human rights violations,” it said in a statement.

 Detention Orders is in contravention of fundamental rule of law principles and must be further revised if Sri Lanka is to deliver on its promise to protect the human rights of all of its inhabitants,” ICJ’s Legal and Policy Director Ian Seiderman said. 

The ICJ stressed that these provisions contravene Article 13 of Sri Lanka’s Constitution, as well as Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Sri Lanka is a party.

On 15 September 2023, the Ministry of Justice of Sri Lanka published the revised version of the Anti-Terrorism Bill, which would repeal and replace the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act No.48 of 1979 (PTA). 

A first draft of the Bill was published in March 2023 and according to Government ministers, the current revision was aimed at removing certain problematic provisions from the earlier draft. The ICJ had also previously expressed concerns about that draft. 

“Sri Lanka should dispense with special regimes like the ATA and instead address terrorism offences through criminal procedures that comply with the rule of law,” Seiderman said. “At the very least, the Ministry of Justice must revise the present draft in line with international human rights law and standards before Parliament takes action on it,” he noted. 

The ICJ stressed the Bill would provide the President with excessive powers to restrict the exercise of human rights, including imposing restriction orders on individual persons, proclaiming curfews, designating prohibited places, and making regulations to implement rehabilitation programmes for persons regarding whom the Attorney-General has recommended a deferment or suspension of criminal action.

However, it also noted several positive changes in the revised draft, including the removal of the death penalty as a possible punishment and the removal of the power of the Deputy Inspector Generals (DIGs) of Police to issue Detention Orders (DO).