Speaker of Parliament Jagath Wickramaratne on Monday informed the House that the Supreme Court has ruled the Convention on the Suppression of Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Bill is fully consistent with the Constitution of Sri Lanka.
Addressing Parliament during the morning session, Dr Wickramaratne said the Court had concluded that “the Bill or any provision thereof is not inconsistent with any provision of the Constitution,” allowing the legislation to proceed without amendment. The determination was delivered under Article 121(1), the constitutional review mechanism for pre-enactment challenges to draft legislation.
The Speaker simultaneously announced a second determination, on the Financial Transaction Reporting (Amendment) Bill. The Court held that the Bill could be passed by simple majority of Parliament, except for Clauses 22 and 39 — which require a special two-thirds majority unless amended as the Court has proposed. If the recommended amendments are adopted, those clauses too could pass with a simple majority.
Both determinations clear the way for parliamentary debate and passage of the bills, part of the financial-sector legislative tranche advanced under the National People’s Power government’s IMF programme commitments around terrorism financing controls and the FATF compliance regime.
The terrorist-financing amendment is procedurally distinct from the Proposed Suppression of Terrorism Act (PSTA), the broader successor-statute to the Prevention of Terrorism Act that reached the Justice Minister’s desk this month. The PSTA covers terrorism offences and pre-trial powers; this amendment narrows on the financial-flows convention Sri Lanka ratified under UN auspices.
Sources: Ada Derana, Newswire
