News
Ex-HR Commissioner moves SC against Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act
Former Human Rights Commissioner Ambika Satkunanathan has moved the Supreme Court against the proposed amendment to the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act.
The petitioner has stated provisions of the proposed amendment are inconsistent with Articles of the Constitution of Sri Lanka prohibiting torture, unequal treatment and arbitrary arrest and detention.
The Attorney General has been named the respondent.
The petitioner has argued that the proposed amendment denies bail to persons suspected or accused of committing offences under certain sections of the Act until the conclusion of the trial, which is incompatible with fundamental rights protections in the Constitution.
The petition stated that the proposed amendment allows for de-facto compulsory drug treatment, which has been declared by the United Nations as ineffective and futile and considered to violate several human rights standards, including the right against arbitrary detention, right to be free from torture and the right to the highest attainable standard of medical care.
The proposed amendment empowers police officers to refer a person to undergo a medical test to ascertain “drug dependency” and if the person is found to be dependent on drugs, the officer can refer the person to residential or non-residential drug treatment. The proposed provision hence allows a person to be admitted to residential treatment by a police officer without a judicial order. The petitioner states there is no medical test that can determine drug dependence and further states that empowering a police officer to refer a person to rehabilitation would be liable for abuse and result in the violation of fundamental rights.
Children who are convicted of committing offences under this Bill are also liable for imprisonment for up to ten years according to the proposed amendment. The petitioner highlights that such provisions are contrary to the best interests of the child and will result in the criminalisation of children instead of providing them the required assistance.
The proposed amendment allows police officers to document and subsequently destroy drugs, prior to the conclusion of the trial, which the petitioner states could potentially adversely impact a person’s right to fair trial.
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Transport, Highways, and Urban Development to award the contract for printing and supplying vehicle number plates for the Department of Motor Traffic for a period of five (5) years to M/s South Asian Technologies based on the recommendations of the High-Level Standing Procurement Committee and the Procurement Appeal Board.
The National Lotteries board has been established subject to the Finance Act No. 11 of 1963. Having identified the requirement of amending that act which was imposed around 62 years to cater the current requirements of the lottery market, the Cabinet of Mnisters at their meeting held on 14.02.2017 granted approval to draft a new bill for the purpose.
Accordingly, the National Lotteries Board has recognized further amendments to be performed to the fundamental draft bill prepared by the Legal Draftsmen.
Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval for the
resolution furnished by the President in his office as the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to direct the Legal Draftsmen to finalize the formulation of the draft bill for the National Lotteries Board as soon as possible including the proposed new amendments as well.
The Werahara office of the Department of Motor Traffic performs issuance of temporary driving licenses in this country based on the driving licenses issued overseas, and measures have been initiated to render the service from a service window of the Department of Motor Traffic established at the Bandaranayake International Airport from 03.08.2025.
The fees charged for issuing temporary driving licenses have been published in Motor Vehicles (Driving License Levy) Regulations No. 3 of 2022 prepared under the provisions of the Motor Traffic (Authority 203) Act.
But, as the fee of Rupees 2,000/- charged for the service is not sufficient, the requirement of amending the regulations has been recognized.
The regulations for introducing the revised fees have been published in the government extraordinary gazette
notification No. 2463/04 dated 17.11.2025. Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development to
submit the regulations to the Parliament for its concurrence.
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Motor Vehicles (Driving License Levy) Regulations No. 3 of 2022 to be amended
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