Detainees to get mandatory lawyers under legal reform

By Uditha Jayasinghe 

Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe received Cabinet approval to present to Parliament an amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedures to provide legal aid to suspects and consolidation of key legislation including key criminal law.  

The proposal made by Rajapakshe to publish in the gazette and present in Parliament the drafted Code of Criminal Procedures (Amendment) Act, for enacting provisions enabling a detainee to obtain the service of a desired legal counsel by his expenditure, before presenting before a Magistrate, and to provide that service through a legal counsel of the Legal Aid Commission, for any detainee who cannot afford the expense, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. 

A second Cabinet paper seeking to consolidate key criminal legislation according to international standards was also approved.

“Legislation enacted in the past has been amended frequently and understanding such laws has become a complex and difficult task. As a solution, the Ministry of Justice will consolidate five core legislations and redraft them in Sinhala, Tamil and English with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme,” the paper said. 

The Evidence Ordinance, Criminal Procedure Code and the Penal Code, include many words and declarations that are outdated and could be misunderstood by the public. Therefore, the proposal made by the Minister of Justice, to substitute or revise such terms in those legislations to suit the present linguistic context, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. 

An amendment to the witness protection law allowing a witness to give testimony to be given from a foreign country on video was approved by the Cabinet. 

The Assistance to and Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses Act No. 04 of 2015 enacted on 16 May 2016. 

“There have been requests to protect witnesses from overseas under this Act. Accordingly it has been decided to amend the above Act enabling victims and witnesses to give evidence from outside the country through audio visual media, without being present at courts,” the Cabinet paper said. 

Such evidence may be given at a Sri Lankan Diplomatic Mission in the respective country and provisions should be enacted to protect the freedom of witnesses and prevent any influence. The proposal made by the Justice Minister, to draft amendments to the above Act on the above purposes, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.