RTI Commission orders release of Draft Disability Law
March 3, 2018, 8:36 pm
The Right to Information (RTI) Commission has directed the release of the most recent draft of the law on persons with disabilities to the ICES.
The order follows the refusal of the Ministry of Social Empowerment to accede to a right to information request filed by the ICES in July 2017.
After its request was declined, ICES filed an appeal, first with the designated officer at the Ministry and later with the RTI Commission.
On February 27, 2018, after a brief hearing, the RTI Commission ordered release of the draft law.
The Appellant Dr. Mario Gomez observed that the draft was of considerable public interest in Sri Lanka with disability groups in particular being interested in its contents.
Responding to a query by the Commission as to the current status of the draft as the dates mentioned in the responses of the Designated Officer to the Public Authority for the completion of the process had long since lapsed, S. D. Udawatta, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Social Empowerment, Welfare and Kandyan Heritage clarified that although the draft law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (which the Legal Draftsman’s Department had amended, and sent to the Ministry for its observations) had been listed several times before the Governing Council at its meetings, the draft had not yet been considered.
He clarified further that this was why the Public Authority had been unable to provide the Appellant with a copy of the draft. He stated however that if the Commission issued an Order to that effect, the draft could be provided to the Appellant.
Udawatta further said that, given the uncertainty in the process, the Public Authority was regretfully not in a position to state as to when the draft legislation will be approved by the Cabinet and presented in Parliament.
The Commission held that the fact the draft legislation has not been considered by the relevant Governing Council is not an exceptional circumstance under Section 5 of the Right to Information Act No 12 of 2016 warranting the refusal of the requested information.
It is pertinent in this regard that the definition of information in Section 43 of the Act expressly includes ‘draft legislation’ within its ambit. In many countries in the region as well as globally, draft laws are required to be presented before the public in advance and before the Bill is gazetted, in order to obtain public feedback on its contents which is a beneficial process leading to public consensus around the framing of legislation, the Commission said.
While the draft law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities may be subject to subsequent amendments, the PA is bound to provide a copy of the draft in its current state to the Appellant and there is no requirement to wait until the draft legislation is gazetted, the Commission noted.
The PA was directed to provide the Appellant of a copy of Sri Lanka’s draft law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (in Sinhala, Tamil & English).
The Appeal was heard before Chairperson Mahinda Gammampila and Commission Members Ms. Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena, S. G. Punchihewa, Dr. Selvy Thiruchandran and Justice Rohini Walagama with Director-General Piyathissa Ranasinghe present.
The Appeal was concluded.
