Czech Republic P’ment team meets Justice Minister

A Czech Republican parliamentary delegation met the Minister of Justice and SLMC Leader, Rauff Hakeem, at the Ministry of Justice. A discussion was held with the visiting Czech delegation on strengthening the bilateral relations of both states, with special emphasis on the justice and legal sector network, cooperation and development.

The Czech delegation was led by Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Member of Parliament David Vorazka, accompanied by Ambassador for Sri Lanka Miloslav Stasek.

They exchanged views on the prevailing legal structure and the state-of-the-art access to justice programs such as the alternative dispute resolution mechanism and the highly successful concept of mediation boards, operative at the village level.

The mediation boards have now been reactivated and extended to the northern and eastern provinces as well, in the post war period, strengthening Justice Ministry’s outreach and people’s access to the legal sector.  

Hakeem further explained to them the LLRC process and the structured way of dealing with its recommendations, especially by way of a road map to deal with human rights issues. He pointed out that the Presidential Task Force has identified a time frame for such actions. The National Action Plan for Human Rights in this regard was handed over to the delegation by the Secretary of the Ministry of Justice Kamalini De Silva.

Hakeem further noted that Sri Lanka’s responsibility as a member of the international community which respects post-war obligations was crucial. He conceded that after a 30-year-long civil war it was not possible for resolutions to be meted out overnight. Hence, a phased approach is underway for the rehabilitation and reconstruction issues.

Leading a constituency of the SLMC, that has a majority in the Eastern Province, he was obliged to note that a tile factory with Czech technology was fast developing with state of the art quality productions in Irakkamam, Ampara. He also invited Czech Republic to invest in ecotourism in this scenic location besides their industrial sector interests.  

The delegation of the Members of Parliament included Katerina Konecna, Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Pavel Hollk, Member, and Zuzana Putnarova, Secretary, Foreign Affairs Committee. The Secretary of the Ministry of Justice Kamalini De Silva also participated at the discussion.