Sri Lanka's Cabinet has approved the publication and presentation to Parliament of a new Bill intended to create a dedicated legal framework to prevent and combat organised crime.
The Legal Draftsman prepared the Bill following an earlier Cabinet decision, and the draft has received clearance from the Attorney General.
Cabinet has now approved a joint proposal by the Minister of Justice and National Integration and the Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs to publish the Bill in the Government Gazette and present it to Parliament for approval.
Why the Government says the law is needed
The proposed legislation is intended to provide specific legal measures for dealing with serious organised-crime networks and to support Sri Lanka's obligations under the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.
Government representatives have also linked the initiative to efforts to reduce reliance on the Prevention of Terrorism Act for suspects who are not accused of terrorism.
However, the precise detention, investigative and procedural powers should be assessed against the gazetted text of the Bill once publicly available.
Not yet law
Cabinet approval does not mean the proposed organised-crime law has already come into force.
The Bill must still proceed through the required publication and parliamentary process.
Sineth News is therefore not reporting specific detention periods, investigative powers, offences or safeguards until they are verified from the gazetted Bill itself.
Government statements indicating that the law is not intended to operate retrospectively should remain attributed to the Government rather than presented as an independently established legal conclusion until the text is examined.