Sri Lanka Implements record number of legal reforms in history
By: Staff Writer
June 18, Colombo (LNW): Within the scope of the Justice Ministry, 59 legal reforms have been passed in Parliament: 29 in 2022, 17 in 2023, and 13 so far in 2024.
Additionally, seven more drafts are set to be adopted by Parliament soon. It is also important to note that work on 44 other crucial legal amendments is nearly complete it added.
The Secretary to the Ministry of Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms, Mr. M. N. Ranasinghe stated that the period from 2022 to 2024 will be historically significant for the highest number of law reforms in Sri Lanka.
He highlighted that since 2022, a total of 59 legal reforms have been passed in Parliament, with an additional 07 drafts and 44 legal amendments slated for future approval.
Mr. Ranasinghe made these remarks during a press conference titled “Two Years of Progress and Advancement” at the Presidential Media Centre yesterday (17).
He emphasized the ministry’s pivotal role in drafting laws across various ministries. He noted that the Department of Legal Draftsman prepared 273 drafts in 2022 and 299 drafts in 2023, encompassing all three languages.
Secretary to the Ministry of Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reform, Mr. M. N. Ranasinghe further said:
“The Ministry of Justice, Prison Affairs, and Constitutional Reforms has made significant progress in legal reforms over the past two years.
This period will be remembered as the time where the largest number of legal reforms were implemented.
The Ministry of Justice plays a major role in drafting laws for every ministry. Consequently, the Department of Legal Draftsman prepared 273 draft laws in 2022 and 299 in 2023, in all three languages, for other ministries.
By making the judicial system more efficient, people’s cases can be resolved quickly. This allows property related to litigation to be utilized for economic development and fosters a favourable investment environment. Clearly, there is a direct relationship between delays in the legal system and economic growth.
According to the report issued by the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Legal Affairs in 2017, it typically takes about 17 years to conclude a criminal case. Various studies indicate that it can take more than a generation to complete land, partition, and testamentary cases. We have planned the necessary activities to change this situation.
Digitization of the judicial system has been identified as a major solution. Accordingly, digitization and a large number of reforms have already been carried out in the ministry as well as in the judicial sector.
