President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has reviewed progress on projects funded under the Ministry of Justice and National Integration’s 2026 Budget allocations, along with the ministry’s proposals for the 2027 Budget.
The pre-Budget discussion was held on Tuesday at the Presidential Secretariat and covered the physical and financial progress of work carried out by the ministry’s departments, statutory institutions and affiliated bodies, the President’s Media Division said.
Dissanayake pressed the case for judicial infrastructure, saying the country needed a justice system capable of delivering timely justice to the public and that court construction should be expedited to achieve it.
Court complexes and judges’ housing
Officials briefed the meeting on major construction projects including the Colombo High Court Complex, the Ministry of Justice building, the Hulftsdorp Court Complex, and new court complexes at Galle, Matale and Kantale.
The meeting also reviewed the proposed construction of official residences for judges, a project suspended after the 2022 economic crisis.
Departmental allocations
Projects run by the Attorney General’s Department under a capital allocation of Rs. 79 million were examined, as were those of the Legal Draftsman’s Department under an allocation of Rs. 38 million. Officials discussed strengthening the Legal Draftsman’s Department through better human resources and technology.
The Government Analyst’s Department is working under a capital allocation of Rs. 635 million, which may be raised to Rs. 701 million. Plans to lift its monthly analytical reporting capacity to 9,000 reports were discussed, and the President instructed officials to relocate the department to better-equipped premises.
The Department of Prisons received the largest capital allocation under the ministry at Rs. 5.627 billion, being used for prison renovations, modern equipment and vehicles, software systems and welfare facilities for prison officers.
The meeting also covered the Department of Community-Based Corrections, and discussed bringing rehabilitation programmes run by several institutions under a single coordinating mechanism. Activities of the Mediation Boards Commission, Judicial Service Commission Secretariat, Office on Missing Persons, Office for Reparations and Official Languages Commission were reviewed.
Dissanayake also called for streamlined government procurement, saying separate procurement frameworks are being prepared for specialised sectors including digital services, healthcare and defence.
Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara, Labour Minister and Deputy Finance Minister Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando and Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake attended.
