sri lanka's commissions of inquiry - Law & Society Trust

Magistrate’s
Court – Special
Division
Ad Hoc
Committee
Relevant police records to be handed over to a Human Rights
Prosecutor. 145 III.2(v)
Special division of the Magistrate’s Court, Colombo to be
established to deal with the 330 Habeas Corpus Applications still
awaiting attention and new notices to go out to petitioners from
the Court of Appeal in respect of these applications. IV.11(iii)
Special Division of Magistrate’s Court in Colombo to be
designated to clear backlog of Habeas Corpus Applications. 146
IV.21
An ad hoc committee be appointed to study and make
recommendations in the light of the Judgment of the Inter-American
Court of Human Rights in Aloeboetoe etc. v. Suriname. 147 III.5
Southern, Final
(171)
Southern, Final
(174)
All Island,
Final (85)
Southern, Final
(172)
1997
1997
2001
1997
145.
The Inspector General of Police by Circular No. 1187/95 of 1995 directed all subordinates “to suspend the laid down procedure of destroying…”
“…information books, telephone registers, prisoners’ detention registers, and other documents connected with arrest, detention, etc. covering
the period 01.01.1988 to date.” All Island Report, 2001, Annex XIV, p. 142. “There appears to be deliberate attempts by some Officers to
destroy incriminating documentary evidence against certain police officers.” All Island Report, 2001, p.17-V.
146.
“The effectiveness of the remedy of Habeas Corpus became questionable however in view of the delay attendant on obtaining relief. A
perusal of the break-up of the Habeas Corpus applications filed and pending, (vide chart) shows that 2925 cases have been filed between 1988
and 1997. Of those 272 have not been concluded as yet, while most of the applications were disposed of after a lapse of over 5 years. In most
of the areas outside of the Eastern Province the facility for Habeas Corpus Applications to be filed in the High Court was not availed of. This
facility made it easier for petitioners to have access to the Courts to locate abducted persons. However, Habeas Corpus applications received
by the High Court of Batticaloa appear to have been dealt with more expeditiously, out of 49 filed between 1994 and 1997, 44 have already
been disposed of.” All Island Commission Report, 2001, p. 27.
147.
This recommendation has not been implemented. In Aloeboetoe et al v Suriname, Judgment of September 10, 1993, Inter-Am. Ct. H.R.
(Ser. C) No. 15 – the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordered the Suriname Government to provide various forms of reparation to
the families of the boatmen killed by Surinamese soldiers. In addition to awarding compensation for the actual deaths of the victims, the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights awarded “moral” compensation to the victims’ parents and also to their successors for emotional
suffering endured by the victims before they were killed, the Court saying that: “it can be presumed that the parents have suffered morally as
a result of the cruel death of their offspring, for it is essentially human for all persons to feel pain at the torment of their children.” The Court
in Aloeboetoe further held that the Suriname Government was under an obligation to provide education to the children of the victims and to
enforce this obligation the Court ordered the re-opening of a school at a medical dispensary in the village where the majority of the victims’
families resided.
101