Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) has filed a petition before the Supreme Court challenging the Anti-Corruption (Amendment) Bill, which has been placed on Parliament’s Order Paper for passage by the government.
The petition challenges several proposed amendments, including a provision empowering the Director General of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), without prior approval from a magistrate, to decide whether accomplices should be granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for full disclosure.
It also challenges provisions seeking to exempt officials of companies in which the government holds between 25% and 50% of shares from the requirement to submit asset declarations.
TISL has further objected to the proposed removal of the obligation imposed on public officials to declare the assets and liabilities of partners who had lived with them in the same household for at least six months before the declaration.
The petition also challenges the discretionary power granted to CIABOC to redact any information it considers harmful to an individual’s privacy, as well as a provision making it a criminal offence for the public to use a redacted asset declaration for any purpose other than those specified in the Act.
TISL has asked the Supreme Court to determine that the challenged provisions are inconsistent with the Constitution and require approval by a two-thirds majority in Parliament and at a referendum.
