The Supreme Court has determined that several articles of the proposed Bureau of Rehabilitation Bill are inconsistent with the Constitution.
Speaker – Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena delivered the Supreme Court determination at the commencement of the Parliament sittings this morning (20).
The Supreme Court determined that the Bill, as a whole, is inconsistent with Article 12 (1) of the Constitution and can be enacted only by a special majority in parliament, unless the proposed articles are amended accordingly.
The SC determination states that this inconsistancy shall cease if :
(i) all references to “ex-combatants,” “violent extreme groups” and “other group of persons” are deleted from the Bill ;
(ii) the Bill is limited to the rehabilitation of drug dependent persons and such other persons may be identified by law.
