Ranil’s 2022 Emergency Laws Violated Fundamental Rights, Says Supreme Court

COLOMBO (News 1st); On July 17, 2022, then-Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe imposed emergency regulations across Sri Lanka under the Public Security Ordinance in response to the ongoing protests.

Today, the Supreme Court ruled that these regulations violated fundamental human rights.

A majority decision by a three-judge bench declared that the emergency regulations issued under Section 2 of the Public Security Ordinance were arbitrary and lacked legal authority.

The ruling was delivered with the concurrence of Chief Justice Murdhu Fernando and Justice Yasantha Kodagoda.

However, Justice Arjuna Obeysekera, delivering his opinion, stated that the emergency regulations did not infringe upon fundamental rights.

The petitions were filed by the Centre for Policy Alternatives, Ambika Satkunanathan, a former Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, and the Liberal Youth Movement. The court also ordered the government to pay legal costs to the petitioners.