Lanka not under obligation to UNHRC - SC

Wasantha Ramanayake

COLOMBO: The five Judge bench of the Supreme Court Friday decided that Sri Lanka was not under any obligation to abide by findings of the Human Rights Committee (HRC) of the United Nations.

The Court held that the accession to the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant of the Civil and Political Rights(ICCRP) in 1997 by the then President was inconsistent with the Constitution and in excess of the powers of the Constitution.

The Bench comprised Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva PC and Justices Nihal Jayasinghe, N.K. Udalagama, Nimal Dissanayaka and Nimal Gamini Amaratunga.

Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva PC delivering judgement with the rest of the Judges agreeing in the Revision application observed that the then President as Head of the Government could not have acceded to the optional protocol and made the Declaration had the then President adhered to the provisions of the Constitution.

Further he noted that in its response to the HRC the Sri Lanka Government had set out the correct legal position in this respect.

"The Constitution of Sri Lanka and the prevailing legal regime do not provide for release or retrial of a convicted person after his conviction is affirmed by the highest appellate Court, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. Therefore, the State does not have the legal authority to execute the decision of the Human Rights Committee to release the convict or grant a re-trial."

The CJ regarded the response as "a plea of helplessness on the part of the Government" and would negatively reflected on the Country.

The five Bench Judge of the Supreme Court made a ruling dismissing a Revision application filed by Petitioner Nallaratnam Singarasa who was serving a term in the Kalutara Prison to revise order of the Supreme Court based on the findings of the HRC at Geneva established under the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights and made under the Optional Protocol to the Covenant.

The Supreme Court had earlier refused to grant Special Leave to Appeal from the judgement of the Court of Appeal that affirmed the conviction and sentence of the High Court dismissing the appeal. But the Court of Appeal reduced the sentence to 7 years RI for each five counts to be run connectively.

The petitioner aggrieved by the decision of the Supreme Court had appealed to the HRC and the HRC directed to the Government to release\retry and compensate the petitioner. The petitioner stated that he was convicted on five counts including conspiracy charges to overthrow the Government and attacking four Army camps between May 1, 1990 and December 31, 1991 and sentenced to 10 years RI for each five counts to be run consecutively by the High Court.

Senior counsel R.K.W. Gunasekera with Savithri Gunasekera instructed by E. Mariampilla appeared for the petitioner.

Deputy Solicitor General Yasantha Kodagoda appeared for the Attorney General.