|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 09 March 2003 |
 |
|
 |
Politics |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Army fully accountable to the courts - Prof. G. L. Peiris by ASIFF HUSSEIN The Minister of Constitutional Affairs, Industrial Policy and Enterprise Development, Prof G.L.Peiris had a few thoughts on human rights and the law to share with officers of the Sri Lankan armed forces recently. Prof. Peiris speaking at the inauguration of a training course on International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights for officers of the Sri Lanka Army at the Kotalawela Defence Academy, stressed that under Sri Lankan law all citizens of the republic including members of the armed forces were equal before the law unlike some continental European states which distinguish between the ordinary public and the army and the public service. He noted that under the Sri Lankan system, there is the subordination of the armed forces to civilian authority and that no special privileges are conceded to the army in terms of accountability before courts. He observed that the constitutions of 1972 and 1978 had specifically enshrined a Bill of Rights which recognised that every citizen of the country had certain inalienable rights that could not be taken away by anybody, whether by the executive or the legislature. This includes the right to life, the right to association, the right of assembly and the right of publication. The purpose of all law, he stressed, was to enable humanity to pursue liberty and happiness and that the powers law ascribes to government are qualified and limited. Prof. Peiris especially stressed on the accountability of armed forces personnel to the courts of the country and pointed out that 'superior orders' were no excuse for violating the fundamental rights which the citizens of the country were entitled to. "Superior orders if wrong cannot be carried out and whoever obeys superior orders which are wrong would be held fully accountable for the consequences which emanate from such action". The court held that soldiers were not bound to obey orders they knew to be wrong even if it meant disobedience and disregard for the orders of a superior officer. The court also stressed that any soldier who did not heed the higher law would be dealt with by the law in its full rigour and sans any extenuation or mitigation. In doing so, said Prof. Peiris, the courts of this country demonstrated its adherence to the arguments articulated by international courts in the domain of the Law of Nations such as the Nuremburg Trials at the conclusion of the Second World War. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
