Untitled - International Commission of Jurists
Untitled - International Commission of Jurists
Untitled - International Commission of Jurists
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measures recommended in regard to reparations have also not been implemented<br />
beyond paying the victims small amounts <strong>of</strong> compensation. In addition, important<br />
limitations apply to their reports being made public. Consequently, public<br />
expectations in regard to the appointment <strong>of</strong> such commissions are minimal and<br />
invoke the most pr<strong>of</strong>ound cynicism.<br />
9. Methodology<br />
The analysis proceeds on an examination <strong>of</strong> published commission <strong>of</strong> inquiry reports<br />
together with confidential documentation that were part <strong>of</strong> these reports. In addition, it<br />
uses the vast resource base <strong>of</strong> information contained in other reports by government<br />
bodies (some <strong>of</strong> which are not easily accessible) and non-governmental organizations.<br />
This is supplemented by key interviews with those closely involved with the working<br />
<strong>of</strong> commissions <strong>of</strong> inquiry as well as with Sri Lanka’s justice system.<br />
As anticipated, analysis <strong>of</strong> the data in this regard was limited by the absence <strong>of</strong> an upto-date<br />
database <strong>of</strong> information as well as by inherent difficulties in accessing any<br />
information available in the first instance, given that there is no right to public<br />
information in court registries and/or information in the hands <strong>of</strong> the Attorney<br />
General. Access to court records in Sri Lanka is fraught with difficulties; court<br />
registries only entertain requests for information on a particular case from a lawyer<br />
appearing in the case or a party proven to have a sufficient interest. Applications<br />
made in the public interest are generally disallowed. A statutory right to information<br />
which addressed, inter alia, the public’s right <strong>of</strong> access to information held in<br />
government departments and courts still remains to be enacted into law though a draft<br />
bill was approved by the Cabinet as far back as 2003.<br />
In addition, though statistical information in relation to prosecutions for grave human<br />
rights violations is given in the periodic reports that Sri Lanka furnishes to the United<br />
Nations treaty bodies through the periodic reporting procedure, this information is, at<br />
times, incoherent and disjointed. Consequently, reference to such statistics is based on<br />
best available information, supplemented as much as possible through information<br />
supplied ad hoc by the Attorney General’s Department in the context <strong>of</strong> previous<br />
research engaged in by non-governmental organizations during alternative report<br />
writing to the UN treaty bodies.<br />
A further observation is that the alleged perpetrators implicated in many <strong>of</strong> the<br />
incidents <strong>of</strong> grave human rights violations examined in this report are still serving in<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficial positions, including some who were subsequently promoted. Politicians<br />
implicated in these crimes are also still in active politics. Thus, caution has been taken<br />
in referring to these alleged perpetrators ins<strong>of</strong>ar as specific identification <strong>of</strong><br />
individuals is concerned.<br />
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