Govt. urged to defer ‘Anti-Terrorism Bill’

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) has urged the government to defer ‘Anti-Terrorism Bill’ pending consultations with concerned parties, including the association.

The following is the text of the statement: “The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) observes that the Government published an ‘Anti- Terrorism Bill’, on the 22nd of March 2023. This Bill seeks to abolish the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and introduce an Anti-Terrorism Act.

The BASL is firmly of the view that no legislation should be introduced to curtail and/or suppress, directly or indirectly the fundamental rights of citizens, enshrined in our Constitution and that this Bill if passed into law will have far reaching effects.

The Bill has been published in the Gazette without adequate consultations with the relevant stakeholders including the BASL. Hence the BASL calls upon the Government to consider to defer the Bill until there is a wider stakeholder consultation and the concerns of stakeholders including the BASL are taken into account.

Furthermore, the BASL takes cognizance that the bill requires serious attention, and as such, has appointed a committee of senior lawyers to review the legality and the consequences of the bill, and report to the Management Committee of the BASL.

It must be noted that the BASL would not hesitate to challenge any bill that would deem to undermine the Rule of Law and the Liberty of the Citizen in our country.”