SRI LANKA: INDEPENDENT COUNCIL FOR NEWS MEDIA STANDARDS ACT – FULL TEXT (1ST DISCUSSION DRAFT)
29/03/2017
The Information Department of Sri Lanka has obtained a draft act in order to establish an independent Media Council as explained in its call for public views for establishing such a mechanism. The draft act has been named as “Independent Council for News Media Standards Act” .
Wijayananda Jayaweera
The draft has been prepared by Wijayananda Jayaweera, who is presently working as the World Bank Consultant to the Government of Sri Lanka to prepare a strategic plan to implement the right to information Act. He worked as the Director of UNESCO’s Communication Development Division and UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication from 2003 to 2011 March 31.
According to the draft the Council shall consist of thirteen members including the Council’s Chairperson, appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the Constitutional Council.
The proposed Council will function as the oversight mechanism of a system of self-regulation and will the power to apply sanction for wilful violations of its codes of practice.
Sri Lanka: Independent Council for News Media Standards Act (First Draft)
