Download This PaperProposals for a Bill of Rights for Post-war Sri Lanka
‘Proposals for a Bill of Rights for Post-war Sri Lanka in Key Issues in Sri Lanka's Constitutional Reform Process: The Executive Presidency, Devolution and Bill of Rights (Institute for Constitutional Studies, Colombo, 2018)
16 Pages Posted: 16 Jun 2020
Date Written: December 1, 2018
Abstract
This policy brief evaluates the proposals of the Sub-Committee on Fundamental Rights of the Constitutional Assembly, and considers the possibilities for advancing human rights by way of constitutional reform, as proposed. This brief takes the view that if the proposed constitutional scheme offers a supportive institutional architecture and culture, and if stakeholders in constitutional adjudication respond appropriately, the proposed new bill of rights could lead to better protection for human rights and freedoms in Sri Lanka.
Fundamental rights guarantees in constitutions are increasingly viewed as critical, not only in vindicating individual/collective civil and political rights, but also for other human rights that are now being considered equally significant. Constitutional guarantees of human rights are also essential in strengthening the evolution of the normative foundations of human rights and in clarifying the corresponding expansion of state obligations to guarantee such rights. Using this lens, this policy brief attempts to identify and analyse the most significant aspects of the current proposals for bill of rights in Sri Lanka.
Keywords: Sri Lanka, constitutional reform, fundamental rights
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