LAW COMMISSION OF SRI LANKA

The Law Commission of Sri Lanka was established under the Law Commission Act No. 03 of 1969. The Law Commission is statutorily required to keep the laws in Sri Lanka under review, to advice on the elimination of anomalies, repeal of obsolete laws and simplification and modernization of the applicable law. The department of the Law Commission was established as a permanent government Department under the Ministry of Justice to provide administrative support to the Law Commission.

In accordance with the Section 2 of the Law Commission Act, a Chairman and members of the Law Commission are appointed by Her Excellency the President of Sri Lanka for a period of five years. The eighth Law Commission was appointed under Act, on the 29^th November 2004 with the following members:

	Prof. Lakshman Marasinghe, Attorney at Law,	Chairman
	Mr.Ranjit Abeysuriya, PC	Member
	Mr.Nalin Abeysekara, PC	Member
	Mr.L.C.Seneviratne, PC	Member
	Mr.K.Kanag-Isvaran, PC	Member
	Mr.Nihal Jayamanne, PC	Member
	Mr.D.P.Mendis, PC	Member
	Mr.C.R.de Silva, PC (Attorney General)	Member
	Dr.Harsha Cabral, PC (Attorney at Law)	Member
	Mrs. Dhara.S.Wijayatilaka, Attorney at Law	Member
	Dr.(Ms) Deepika Udagama	Member
	Mr.Jayampathy Wickramaratne, PC	Member
	Mr.Wijayadasa Rajapakshe, PC	Member
	Mrs.Lakshmi Gunasekara Attorney at Law	Secretary

Mission Statement

To promote the reform of the law, to formulate programmes for rationalizing and simplifying legal procedures, including procedure of an administrative character connected with litigation and to review the system of legal education in Sri Lanka in consultation with the Council of Legal Education.

Functions of the Commission

The Law Commission is charged with the general duty of keeping under review the law, both substantive and procedural with a view to its systematic development and reform, the codification of the law, the repeal of anomalies, the repeal of obsolete and unnecessary enactments and generally the simplification and modernization of the law. It is also the duty of the Law Commission to keep under constant review the exercise by bodies other than Parliament of the power to legislate by subsidiary legislation with a view to ensuring that they conform to well established principles and to the rule of law. The Commission is also charged with the specific duty of reviewing the system of legal education.

PROGRAMME OF WORK - 2006/2007

The Program of work 2006/2007 prepared by the Law Commission and approved by the Parliament includes, Laws delays; Law of Evidence, Contempt of Court, Marriage Laws, Freedom of Information and Data Protection, Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses, Equal Opportunity Law, Bio-Ethics, Commercial Transactions, Sentencing, Rights of Children and Amendments to the Arbitration Act and pending from the earlier Law Commission.

INVITING PROPOSALS FOR LAW REFORM

The Law Commission of Sri Lanka welcomes proposals and representations on any area of the law, which requires reforms, from the public and interested groups.

Please forward your proposals to the Secretary, Law Commission of Sri Lanka, No. 428/11, Denzil Kobbekaduwa Mawatha, Baththaramulla.

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