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

Nonetheless, it is not clear why the drafters of the mandates chose to
use a term with no precise legal definition.
Amnesty International, however, “understands the term “removals”
to refer to abduction by non-state actors.” 45 This understanding is
not shared by the various commissions on involuntary removals and
disappearances. Overwhelmingly, involuntary removal is used as a
euphemism for or as a synonym of “abduction.” Employing terminology
that had relevance and meaning under the Penal Code may have enabled
subsequent prosecutions, as the evidence collected by the commissions
would have related more directly to the elements of a crime. Perhaps,
however, the use of such terms was intended to distinguish the work
of commissions of inquiry from judicial proceedings and avoid any
confusion that there were penal consequences linked to such
commissions’ work. The fact is that commissions of inquiry into
disappearances and other rights violations have been employed
overwhelmingly not as a means to a prosecutorial end, but as a substitute
for meaningful legal action.
4.4 REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
There are no publicly accessible reports of the Premadasa or Wijetunga
Commissions.
45.
Amnesty International, “Time for Truth and Justice: Observations and recommendations
regarding the commissions investigating past human rights violations” (AI Index: ASA
37/04/95, April 1995).
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