Feudal Forces: Democratic Nations - Police Accountability in

187Asia Human Rights Commission (2004) Human Rights Commission officers obstructed from carrying out theirduties by the police, Urgent Appeals-General, 2 July, UG-04-2004, http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2004/724/ as on 25 May 2007.188Section 20, The Protection of Human Rights Act 1993 (India).189Tiwana, M. (2004) “Needed: More effective human rights commissions in India” at page 3, CommonwealthHuman Rights Initiative Newsletter, Vol. 11 Number 2, New Delhi, Summer 2004.190Examples are not releasing the full amount of compensation or when there is a dual recommendation to paycompensation and take disciplinary action, doing one or the other. For details, see: Tiwana, M. (2004)”Needed:More effective human rights commissions in India” at page 3, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative Newsletter,Vol. 11 Number 2, New Delhi, Summer 2004.191NHRC vs. State of Arunachal Pradesh and Anr AIR 1996 SC 1234.192Notably, Article 77 of the Constitution of Bangladesh provides that parliament may establish the office ofOmbudsman. In 1980, the parliament passed the necessary Act but this law has never been notified and put intoeffect by any of the governments till today though more than 21 years have been passed since the passing of theOmbudsman Act 1980. The government had promised to appoint an Ombudsman but according to the USSD2006 “Previous legislation authorizing the establishment of a human rights ombudsman remained dormant”.193These are police officers recruited by the Union Public Service Commission through a competitive examinationplaced at the top hierarchy in the police. These officers enjoy the highest levels of discretionary police powers.194Some of the new Police laws that are being proposed or have been passed in the wake of the Supreme Courtorder have empowered the Lokayukta to deal with public complaints against the police.195Article 156 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka.196The Office was created by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration Act, No. 17 of 1981 andsubsequently amended in 1994 to expand the powers of the Ombudsman.197Based on communication with a member of the Police Integrity Commission dated 7 February 2007 and thereport of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, (2007) Country Reports on Human Rights Practices2006: Maldives, United States Department of State: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78872.htm.198See CHRI website for the court order and the state responses to it at: http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/programs/aj/police/india/initiatives/writ_petition.htm.199Article 103, Police Order 2002 (Pakistan).200Article 106, Police Order 2002 (Pakistan).201Information based on email exchange with Mr. Mukhtar Ahmed Ali, Executive Director, Centre for Peace andDevelopment Initiatives, Pakistan.202Article 155G, Constitution of Sri Lanka (17 th Amendment).203Article 155 G (2), Constitution of Sri Lanka.204Pinto-Jayawardena, K. (2007) “Regretting what might have been: a critique of the National Police Commissionof Sri Lanka” paper presented at the Roundtable on Police Reform: A exchange of experiences from South Asiaheld on 23 and 24 March 2007: http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/programs/aj/police/exchange/CHRI%20PAPER%20-%20MARCH%202007.doc as on 22 May 2007.205In a nutshell, Category 1 complaints can be described as behaviour that constitutes corruption and otherserious criminality; matters warranting dismissal from the Police Service; and matters in which it is unlikely thatthere will be public confidence in an internal police investigation (Police Integrity Commission, Special Report toParliament, Project Dresden II: Second audit of the quality of internal investigations, June 2003, pg. 3).206Section 51 The Police Integrity Commission Act, 1996 (New South Wales, Australia).207Section 20, The Police Integrity Commission Act, 1996 (New South Wales, Australia).208Justice Wood, J. (2004) “In the Wake of the Royal Commission into the New South Wales Police Service”,paper presented at the 18 th International Conference, Keeping justice systems just and accountable: a principledapproach in challenging times, organised by the International Society for the Reform of Criminal Law in Montreal,Quebec, Canada 8-12 August 2004: http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/Supreme_Court/ll_sc.nsf/pages/SCO_wood_080804 as on 31 May 2007.209Centre for Policy Alternatives (2007) “A commentary on the Commission of Inquiry and the InternationalIndependent Group of Eminent Persons” CPA Policy Brief No.1, 2007: http://www.cpalanka.org/research_papers/CoI_and_IIGP_FINAL.pdf and “Commission of Inquiry and the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons:Commentary on Developments“ CPA Policy Brief No.2, 2007: http://www.cpalanka.org/research_papers/Policy_Brief_2_2007.pdf as on 30 May 2007.210See Asian Human Rights Commission (2007) “SRI LANKA: The first statement of the International IndependentGroup of Eminent Persons and responses from the President’s Commission of Inquiry and the Attorney General’sDepartment” a forwarded statement, FS-025-2007, June 11: http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2007statements/1056/?alt=french as on 26 June 2007.211See http://www.policeact.govt.nz/issues-paper-1-principles.html as on 22 may 2007.212Commonwealth Heads of Government (2003), Aso Rock Commonwealth Declaration: http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Templates/Internal.asp?NodeID=36175&int2ndParent NodeID=36668 as on 1June 2007.213Commonwealth Heads of Government, (2002) Coolum Declaration: http://www.thecommonwealth.org/shared_asp_files/uploadedfiles/{5D88C133-679E-4F04-88E3-688B14E59749}_coolumdeclaration.pdf as on1 June 2007.214See Commonwealth Foundation (2004), Framework for Action on Maximising Civil Society’s Contribution toDevelopment and democracy 2004-2008, p. 10.215Neild, Rachel (1999), From national security to citizen security: http://www.dd-rd.ca/site/publications/index.php?id=1308&page=11&subsection=catalogue as on 3 July 2007.216Sir Macpherson, W. (1999), Report on the Inquiry into the matters arising from the death of Stephen Lawrence,February: http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm42/4262/sli-00.htm as on 1 June 2007.Stephen Lawrence was a black youth killed in an unprovoked racist attack in 1993 and his family had to wait forsix years before an independent inquiry revealed police bias in investigations. The police publicly apologised toPOLICE ACCOUNTABILITY IN SOUTH ASIA :: 93