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

INTRODUCTION
PART 3
RECOMMENDATIONS OF OTHER
COMMISSIONS OF INQUIRY
The following is a compilation of the recommendations of six
Commissions of Inquiry including: (1) the Commission to Inquire
into the Assassination of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike; (2) the Commission
of Inquiry into Incidents which Took Place between 13th August and
15th September, 1977; (3) the Presidential Commission of Inquiry
into the Kokkadicholai Incident; (4) the Commission of Inquiry into
Unlawful Detention and Torture at the Batalanda Housing Scheme;
(5) the Commission of Inquiry into the Massacre at Bindunuwewa
Rehabilitation Centre; and (6) Presidential Truth Commission on
Ethnic Violence (1981 – 1984).
These six Commissions span three decades; the first was created in
1963, and the last was created in 2001. The commissions address a
number of diverse themes and, as such, are more difficult to compare
than the recommendations of the disappearance Commissions.
Consequently, we have not attempted to merge the recommendations
of these six Commissions into one table. Rather, the recommendations
of each Commission have been organized in separate tables, within
which they have been further grouped thematically.
Despite the distinct nature of each Commission, certain trends emerge,
including recommendations calling for accountability through legal or
disciplinary procedures. Although such recommendations have been
a persistent product of commissions of inquiry, they have failed to
impact the enduring culture of impunity.
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