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| Sunday, 10 July 2005 |
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Features |
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News Business Features
Editorial
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Towards equal access to justice by Jayampathy Jayasinghe A survey carried out in Sri Lanka has revealed that several persons in our society including women, children, internally displaced persons, poor and disabled persons do not have equal access to justice.
The Equal Access to Justice Project, a program funded by the United Nations Development Program, was launched last year in Sri Lanka prior to the Tsunami disaster. It is a tailor-made program designed to provide relief to disadvantaged persons in our society. The program is implemented through the Constitutional Affairs and National Integration Ministry. Ms. Viveka Siriwardena de Silva, the National Project Co-ordinator said, the objective of their programs was to enhance equal access to justice for disadvantaged people. It was a social concept based on human rights approach, targeting two groups of persons. There were the duty bearers like police officers and other state officials who are bound to assist disadvantaged persons to have recourse to justice. The other groups include the public. We encourage them to assert their rights and seek access to equal justice. Ms. De Silva said the program covers the entire justice sector. Their approach was to collaborate with stakeholders in the justice sector and to develop a combined effort to tackle the problems of people who do not have access to justice. "We have set up regional committees comprising stakeholders in these respective areas. The respective Divisional Secretary acts as the co-ordinating partner. The regional committees meet once a month to identify justice issues. "We have educative programs for Police Officers, Prison officers Grama Niladaris, Probation officers and Divisional Secretariat Officers, School Principals and Chairmen of Mediation Boards to enhance their knowledge on law on various issues," said Ms. de Silva. Ms. Silva said problems faced by people were unique and varied from area to area. Some do not want to make complaints at the police station due to fear. They do not have faith in the justice system. Some people do not want to solve their problems through mediation, and are prone to litigation due to wrong advice given by lawyers. The problems include land issues, personnel problems, issuing permits, licences etc. Other problems include marriages among under-aged persons. They are pressurised by parents to marry early in life. Some have children born out of wedlock as a result of cohabitation. Many of them do not have legal documentations like national identity cards, marriage and birth certificates, educational certificates, etc for their day to day activities. Although their project did not fall within the mandate of tsunami disaster, they were able to help tsunami victims in Hambabtota and Ampara districts. "We took about 15 government departments like the Registration of Persons Department, Registrar General's Department, the Education Department, the Examinations Department, the Pension Department, Immigration and Emigration Department, EPF and ETF Department, the Traffic Department and legal aid providers to help people to obtain respective documents. "There were over 10,000 persons who received our services at Hambantota. We had to process around 20,000 applications in Hambantota alone. In Ampara we helped around 20,000 persons. There were more than 50,000 applications to be processed. We had to postpone the project in Mullaitivu area owing to security reasons. But we hope to continue this program in other areas too," she said. The agencies that assist in the implementation of the project include the
Police and the Prison Departments, the Judiciary, the Law College, The Law
faculty, The Open University, the Legal Aid Commission and the Legal Aid
Foundation of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and civil society
organisations like the Sarvodaya Legal Services Movement. |
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Editorial | Security | Produced by Lake House |
