Former BASL President Saliya Pieris warns proposed legislation could undermine anti-terrorism reforms, enable arbitrary arrests and weaken safeguards against police abuse
By The Pulseline News Desk
Former Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) President and President’s Counsel Saliya Pieris has warned that the Government’s proposed Organised Crimes Bill could undermine its commitment to reform Sri Lanka’s controversial anti-terrorism laws by reintroducing powers associated with the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) through separate legislation.
Pieris has raised concerns that provisions in the proposed Bill could facilitate the admission of police confessions as evidence, restrict access to bail and expose individuals to arbitrary arrests and prolonged detention, potentially weakening safeguards against torture and abuse.
In a statement, he has questioned whether the Government was attempting to demonstrate progress on human rights reforms to the European Union (EU) and the international community while introducing legislation that could preserve some of the controversial powers it has pledged to eliminate.
His criticism comes as Sri Lanka faces continued scrutiny over its legal framework governing terrorism, organised crime, detention and the protection of fundamental rights.
Confessions and concerns over police abuse
A central concern raised by Pieris is the proposed treatment of confessions made to police officers.
Successive governments have pledged to reform or repeal the PTA, which has faced longstanding criticism over its detention provisions and the use of confessions obtained by police.
The proposed Protection of the State from Terrorism Act (PSTA), intended to replace the PTA, would remove provisions allowing confessions made to senior police officers to be admitted as evidence in court.
Pieris has argued that the admissibility of such confessions under the existing legal framework had contributed to a culture in which torture and abuse could be used to extract statements from suspects.
However, he has alleged that the proposed Organised Crimes Bill would reintroduce a similar provision by allowing confessions made to police officers of the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and above to be used as evidence against accused persons.
He has warned that this could undermine the safeguards envisaged under the proposed anti-terrorism legislation, allowing controversial practices to continue through a different legal mechanism.
The issue raises a broader question about whether protections introduced through one law would be effective if comparable powers remained available to law enforcement authorities under another.
Bail and detention safeguards under scrutiny
Pieris has also questioned provisions in the proposed Organised Crimes Bill relating to bail and the remanding of suspects.
According to his statement, the proposed framework would restrict the granting of bail to the High Court, while requiring magistrates to remand arrested individuals even where the available evidence against them was insufficient.
He has warned that such provisions could increase the risk of prolonged detention before trial and limit the ability of suspects to obtain timely judicial relief.
The concerns are particularly significant in the context of Sri Lanka’s history of criticism over prolonged detention under security-related legislation.
The balance between giving law enforcement authorities the powers needed to investigate organised crime and ensuring that suspects retain meaningful access to judicial safeguards is likely to be a key issue in assessing the proposed legislation.
Appearance could become a factor in identifying suspects
Another provision highlighted by Pieris concerns the factors that could be considered when determining whether a person belongs to an organised criminal group.
He has said the proposed legislation would allow courts to consider characteristics such as a person’s hairstyle, tattoos or clothing in making that assessment.
Pieris has warned that relying on such characteristics could expose individuals to arbitrary arrest or detention based on their appearance rather than sufficiently established evidence of criminal activity.
His concerns point to the potential for subjective assessments to influence criminal investigations, particularly if appearance-based indicators are given undue weight in identifying suspected members of organised criminal groups.
The extent to which such provisions would be applied in practice, and the safeguards available against their misuse, are therefore important considerations in evaluating the Bill.
GSP+ and the credibility of legal reforms
Pieris’s criticism also raises questions about the implications of the proposed legislation for Sri Lanka’s engagement with the EU.
The EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) provides preferential access to the European market and is important to Sri Lanka’s export sector.
The trade arrangement is linked to commitments on implementing international conventions covering human rights, labour rights, environmental protection and good governance.
Successive Sri Lankan governments have faced pressure to address concerns about the PTA and bring domestic legislation into line with international human rights obligations.
Pieris has questioned whether the Government could credibly demonstrate progress on those commitments if the proposed Organised Crimes Bill retained powers similar to those it intended to remove through the PSTA.
“Can this type of manipulation successfully dupe the EU and the international community to answer human rights questions and secure GSP+?” he has asked.
His remarks highlight the importance of examining the Government’s proposed laws collectively rather than assessing anti-terrorism reforms in isolation.
A wider test for the Government’s reform agenda
The debate over the Organised Crimes Bill comes amid broader discussions about replacing the PTA and establishing a legal framework that addresses security threats while protecting fundamental rights.
While legislation targeting organised criminal activity may provide law enforcement authorities with additional tools to investigate and prosecute serious offences, the scope of those powers and the safeguards governing their use remain critical.
The concerns raised by Pieris focus on whether the proposed Bill could allow investigative and detention powers associated with the existing security framework to continue despite the Government’s stated intention to reform anti-terrorism legislation.
Ultimately, the issue extends beyond the wording of individual provisions to the consistency of Sri Lanka’s overall legal framework.
If safeguards are removed from one law but comparable powers remain available under another, questions could arise over whether the intended reforms offer meaningful protection in practice.
The Government’s handling of the Organised Crimes Bill and the proposed PSTA will therefore be closely relevant to assessing its commitment to legal reform, the protection of fundamental rights and the international obligations underpinning Sri Lanka’s GSP+ trade concessions.
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