Untitled - International Commission of Jurists

appear before the Commission was also dismissed on the basis that the whereabouts
of such persons could not be traced and that this fact should not anyway prevent the
confessions being admitted. 233
While evidentiary rules in Sri Lanka’s commissions of inquiry are relaxed for the
purposes of fact-finding (rather than determining criminal culpability), the admittance
of confessions without further corroboration of their nature or right of reply,
threatened to bring into disrepute the inquiry and judicial system as a whole. 234
Moreover, the possibility of such ‘confessions’ being induced or coerced by law
enforcement officers or through external influence is high.
Given the reputation that the late Justice Sansoni had enjoyed, not merely by virtue of
holding the post of Chief Justice, but rather by the high calibre of his discharge of his
judicial functions, these apparent departures from otherwise high standards guiding
Commission proceedings raise questions that are partly addressed in the following
comment.
In judging Sansoni’s Report, we must go beyond the individual and take into
consideration the milieu in which he was working. In a context where the
politics of the nation is wayward and the executive both too powerful and
thoroughly unscrupulous, to expect a good commission report on a matter
involving high stakes, is to expect too much from individuals. 235
These observations remain relevant in relation to the appointment and functioning of
commissions of inquiry in the present day context in Sri Lanka as well.
2.2. Inquiry into attack on MSF Vehicle (Palampiddi-Iranai Road Inquiry)
Date of Appointment: 9 May, 1991 236
Date of Report: June, 1991 237
Mandate: to inquire into the shooting and attack by aircraft which caused
injury and damage to personnel and property of Medecins Sans Frontieres
(MSF) on 3 May, 1991 and to ascertain whether the firing upon of the MSF
vehicle by a government helicopter was intentional or accidental.
The Commission found that the MSF officers had not obtained the requisite
permission regarding route clearance from the Joint Operations Command (JOC) to
233 ibid. To quote verbatim: ‘Nobody, not even the attorneys at law who raised this objection,
considered it fit or necessary to move for notices on the makers. I made it clear that if they wished to
appear before the Commission, I would be willing to hear them; and I have no doubt that the publicity
given to the proceedings of the Commission would have brought that intimation of my decision, to hear
them if they appeared, to the notice of any of the makers who were desirous of appearing.” Those
whose confessions were so admitted included P. Sathyaseelan (arrested as a suspect in terrorist
activities who later escaped) and the son of TULF frontliner, the late A. Amirthalingam.
234 See Annex ‘A’ to this report: Principle 9,
235 Hoole, Rajan, op. cit, at p. 37.
236 Appointed by President R. Premadasa. L.H de Alwis functioned as the one-man Commissioner. This
is commonly referred to as the MSF Commission report.
237 Sessional Paper No. 11, 1991.
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