Another petition against Anti-Terrorism Bill filed before Supreme Court

Vice Chairman of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya Youth Wing Rehan Jayawickrema today filed a Special Determination petition before the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the Anti-Terrorism Bill. 

 Through this petition, the petitioner is seeking a declaration that the bill requires approval by the people at a Referendum in addition to the 2/3 approval of Parliament. 
 
The Anti-Terrorism Bill was published in the Gazette on September 15, 2023 and placed on the Order Paper of Parliament on October 3, 2023. 
 
The petitioner stated that the proposed bill in its entirety creates a separate or parallel legal regime to other penal statutes in respect of similar and identical conduct and thereby the bill as a whole violates Article 12(1) of the Constitution.

The petitioner further alleged that the bill imposes severe restrictions on the Fundamental Rights of citizens on the basis of ‘national security’ and ‘emergency’ without a declaration of any such emergency and thereby violates Article 4 and Article 12(1) of the Constitution.

The petitioner is of the view that the multiple provisions of the bill confers on the executive, the judicial power of the people contrary to Article 4 of the Constitution. 

The petitioner maintained that Clause 31 of the bill by conferring on the Secretary of the Ministry of Defence the power to issue detention orders was an alienation of the judicial power of the people to the Executive contrary to Article 4 of the Constitution.(Lakmal Sooriyagoda)