News

BASL contemplates legal action against HSZ gazette

Published

4 years ago

2022/09/26

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) has threatened legal action against President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s reintroduction of war-time high security zones (HSZs).

“The BASL will be carefully studying the provisions of the said order and take appropriate legal action to ensure that the Fundamental Rights of the people are secured,” the BASL has said in a statement.

The BASL has said it is concerned that the purported order of the President also seeks to create offences under the said order which are not found in the Principal Act.

Full text of the statement: The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) is deeply concerned at the declaration of certain areas in Colombo as High Security Zones under Section 2 of the Official Secrets Act No. 32 of 1955 by President and Minister of Defence Ranil Wickremesinghe.The said order appears to cover several areas in the Colombo District including the areas in Colombo ordinarily used by the members of the public. It also covers several areas in Hulftsdorp in the vicinity of the Court premises.

The said order by the President purports to prohibit public gatherings or processions whatsoever on a road, ground, shore, or other open area situated within such High Security Zones without the permission of the Inspector General of Police or a Senior Deputy Inspector General. It also prohibits the parking of vehicles within the zone unless reserved for parking by the Competent Authority or under a permit issued by him, such Competent Authority being the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence.The scope of the Official Secrets Act is clearly set out in Section 2 of the said Act which can be read at: https://www.lawnet.gov.lk/official-secrets.4/

What Section 2 of the Official Secrets Act enables the Minister, is to declare any land, building, ship, or aircraft as a prohibited place. The Act does not empower the Minister to declare large areas as High Security Zones.The objective of making an order under Section 2 of the Official Secrets Act is to better safeguard information relating to the defences of Sri Lanka and to the equipment, establishments, organisations, and institutions intended to be or capable of being used for the purposes of defence. Orders under Section 2 cannot be made for any other purpose.

The BASL is concerned that the purported order of the President also seeks to create offences under the said order which are not found in the Principal Act. It is also of utmost concern that the purported order imposes stringent provisions in respect of bail by stating that a person taken into custody in connection with an offence under the said orders shall not be granted bail except by a High Court. The Official Secrets Act contains no such provisions, and in fact Section 22 of the Act empowers a Magistrate to release a suspect on Bail. As such the purported order seeks to significantly curtail the liberty of the citizen, without any reasonable or legal basis.

The BASL is deeply concerned that under the cover of the purported order under Section 2 of the Official Secrets Act that there is the imposition of draconian provisions for the detention of persons who violate such orders thus violating the freedom of expression, the freedom of peaceful assembly and the freedom of movement all of which are important aspects of the right of the people to dissent in Sri Lanka

The BASL will be carefully studying the provisions of the said Order and take appropriate legal action to ensure that the Fundamental Rights of the people are secured.We continue to remind the authorities including the President of the wisdom found in the Judgment of the Supreme Court in the ‘Jana Ghosha’ case of Amaratunge v Sirimal and others (1993) 1 SLR 264 which states as follows:

“Stifling the peaceful expression of legitimate dissent today can only result, inexorably, in the catastrophic explosion of violence some other day.”

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News

Implementation of water supply projects in small town and rural areas.

Published

7 hours ago

2026/06/3

Priyan

Access to safe drinking water for populations residing in small towns and rural areas of Sri Lanka has not yet been fully ensured, and this continues to pose a major challenge to the country’s social and economic development.

With a view to overcome this situation, a programme has been planned to provide clean drinking water to approximately 600,000 families living in semi-urban and rural areas through the implementation of 300 projects covering 50 small towns and rural areas.

The projects are aimed at establishing safe, reliable and sustainable drinking water supply systems, with water to be treated through modern purification technologies, including chlorination and filtration systems, in conformity with national and international drinking water standards.

Accordingly, having considered the resolution furnished by the Minister of Housing, Construction and Water Supply, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval for the implementation of the proposed programme by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board and the National Community Water Supply Department during the period 2027–2029, subject to the conduct of a feasibility study on the proposed programme and inclusion in the Public Investment Programme based on its outcome.

News

Cabinet nod to submit Import and Export (Control) Regulations No. 04 of 2026 to Parliament for its concurrence

Published

7 hours ago

2026/06/3

Priyan

Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), which are chemical compounds widely used in refrigerators and air conditioning units, are being globally phased out under the Montreal Protocol due to their high potential for ozone layer depletion and global warming.

Sri Lanka has likewise committed to phasing out these chemical substances by the year 2030 in a stepwise manner. Accordingly,
regulations under the Import and Export (Control) Act, No. 1 of 1969, namely the Import and Export (Control) Regulations No. 04 of 2026, published in Extraordinary Gazette Notification No. 2487/29 dated 2026-05-07, have been issued, prohibiting, with effect from 2026-06-06, the importation of equipment and appliances that operate solely on hydrochlorofluorocarbons, and prohibiting, with effect from 2028-01-01, the importation of compressors used as components in refrigeration systems of equipment and appliances that operate solely on hydrochlorofluorocarbons.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the President in his capacity as
the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to submit the aforementioned Regulations to Parliament for its concurrence.

News

Declaration of Elephant Migratory Corridors to minimize HEC in Monaragala and Hambantota districts

Published

7 hours ago

2026/06/3

Priyan

Wild elephants inhabit approximately two-thirds of the land area of Sri Lanka, and it has been identified that the rapid obstruction of elephant habitats and migratory corridors due to various development projects and human activities has directly contributed to the escalation of human–elephant conflict.

It has been recognised that, in order to mitigate such conflict to a certain extent, the protection of wild elephant habitats and migratory corridors must be undertaken as a matter of urgency.

The Department of Wildlife Conservation is currently engaged in identifying wild elephant migratory corridors in collaboration with relevant Divisional Secretaries, stakeholder agencies, and organisations.

Under the Wild Elephant Migratory Corridor Identification Programme in Monaragala District, the Wild Elephant Migratory Corridor from Handapanagala to Demodara
across Menik Ganga (River Menik) up to Yala National Park has been identified, and approval has been granted by the Monaragala District Coordinating Committee for that.

The Elephant Migratory Corridor from Yala National Park’s Zone VI -Lunugamvehera National Park to Udawalawe National Park has already been declared as the Wetahira Kanda Nature Reserve in 2002.

Within this area, five (05) licensed land plots have been identified, and these lands have not yet been developed.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Environment to take the following measures:

To declare, under the provisions of the Flora and Fauna Protection Ordinance, the elephant migratory corridor from Handapanagala in Monaragala District to Demodara across Menik Ganga up to Yala National Park as a sanctuary.

To provide alternative land outside the wildlife reserve area in lieu of the five (05) licensed land plots located within the Wetahira Kanda Nature Reserve area, and to re-declare the Wetahira Kanda Nature Reserve as an elephant migratory corridor.

To acquire, upon payment of compensation, land parcels containing buildings constructed in a manner that obstruct the Koholankala elephant corridor in the Hambantota District, and to declare the relevant area of the Hambantota Wild Elephant Management Reserve as a sanctuary.