Anti-Corruption Act aimed at checking fraud and corruption

- Former BASL President U. R. de Silva

by damith
July 28, 2024 1:08 am 0 comment 1.6K views

By Subhadra Deshapriya

The following article is based on an interview conducted with Western Province Public Service Commission Chairman and Former Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) President, President’s Counsel U.R. De Silva.

Before discussing the Anti-Corruption Act (ACA), it is very important to understand the reasons why it is being introduced, especially in the context of the United Nations Anti-Corruption Convention. Sri Lanka signed this anti-corruption convention in 2004.

Sri Lanka promised to act. Until recently, the Bribery and Corruption Commission No. 19 of 1994 was in operation. The role played by the Commission was very limited. The Bill was presented to Parliament during the Good Governance Government in 2015. It included 164 articles. Committees were appointed to seek the views of various individuals, organisations and various parties regarding the Bill. The Bill was presented after a long period of finding ways to cover all areas recommended by those Committees. The ACA was brought to the fore both in terms of checking corruption and acting in accordance with the UN Convention.

Independent Commissions

After presenting the draft and bringing this Bill to Parliament, the Anti-Corruption Bill was passed in 2023. A Bill does not come into force just because it is passed. This Act came into effect on August 8, 2023. It clearly states that the Independent Commissions are accountable to Parliament.

The appointment of this Independent Commission is an integral part of this Act. The role of this Independent Commission is to present a progress report to Parliament every four months. Since the President appoints this Commission, there is no room to say that it is unfair to do so. The reason for that is that even though it is possible to nominate the President, people who have acquired expertise in various subjects who have authentic knowledge should be included in this Commission.

However, after such persons are appointed to this Commission and the Constitutional Council is satisfied, the President makes the final selection; those who have expertise in matters such as forensic auditing, accounting, engineering technology, foreign service administration and knowledge of law should be appointed to this Commission. After making the appointments, the President will take the recommendation of the Constitutional Council in this regard.

Legal responsibility

The allocation of money to this Commission is done by Parliament. The Act grants legal responsibility to Parliament to stop making provisions to the Commission if it does not submit progress reports, become dormant or inactive for four months. Here, the President, Prime Minister and MPs are mandated to present their assets and have been introduced by name in Article 80. Individuals who are required to do so can be introduced and action can be taken against them if they do not do so. Also, only Government agencies can act through the Bribery Act. But this Act goes beyond that and the specific section also mentions the importance of declaration of assets of members who are sports administration.

Article 80 refers to assets here. This also applies to print and academic institutions. It is divided into two parts, one part is newspaper media and the other is scholarly media. Information about the electronic media and print media is outlined. So far, the Sri Lanka Telecommunications Act No. 25 of 1991 has been implemented in relation to the electronic media.

According to the new Act, the owners of the electronic media and their operators constitute the media. This includes the owners, editors, and even editorial board members. Those institutions belong to public and private institutions for this purpose. Also their members also belong under this umbrella. All working journalists are also included. Independent journalists should be concerned about whether they will be important for this. For that they fall under this according to the income they earn.

Those who rise above the income level in the Act are included. According to this new Act, all these institutions have to re-register. If they had registered under the Sri Lanka Telecommunications Act No. 17 of 1991, they should register again. There are certain criteria for them to register again.

If you follow those criteria, you will definitely be registered. Certain institutions through social media that do not exist cannot be removed. At the time when the Sri Lanka Telecommunications Act No. 17 of 1991 was brought, there was no electronic media. For example, some TV channels and some radio stations were not included. Therefore, the existing institutions were registered under this Act. Certain institutions should be registered again under the Online Safety Act (OSA).

It is possible to seek public opinion if there is any confusion or not including some matters related to certain persons in this Act. It is the duty of politicians, social activists and citizens to study this carefully and if there is any confusion about it or if someone is prejudiced or there are opportunities to comment and inform about it, since the Supreme Court cannot challenge an Act.

When there is a Bill, it can be considered in the Supreme Court within 14 days. We can consider whether there are any objections to our Constitution, whether there is a possibility of a violation of fundamental rights, and if so, we can consider them and inform the Attorney General about the Bill, after discussing with the relevant minister, then the Bill can be amended. After that, if there is any problem, according to the law of our country, it is not possible to go to the Supreme Court for a follow-up. Even after that, if there are any public comments, if the clauses here will create a harmful situation for some people, if some people are not included or if there are conditions that need to be improved, if there are public comments that some people are not included, the relevant information will be obtained.

The Minister can bring Amendments to the Act at any time. The Minister will act for it at all times. In case of deficiencies, they can be acted upon. If there are errors in the Act, rather than commenting on it elsewhere, a formal comment should be made openly. It is the media’s responsibility to highlight it and forward it to the relevant Minister. Then the Minister will take action in that regard.

The OSA is also a good example. The Minister said that although the Bill has been passed, it is not possible to go to the Supreme Court again regarding the Bill, but if improvements are made, after the ideas are presented, they can be discussed with the expert panels and amendments can be submitted.

For this, the Customs are also the institutions that deal with excise duties. The Department of Motor Traffic does this in conjunction with the Bribery Commission and Government agencies such as the Inland Revenue Department.

Bank details require court approval; they have broad powers to obtain information without permission. All these agencies are attached to the Commission and are given broad powers to obtain information. It is thus enabled to act without delay.

We are expected to work with an agency called STAR (Stolen Assets Recovery program) to investigate the stolen assets and accordingly, after submitting to their recommendations and entering into an agreement, that agency will assist us in providing the information. There will be some procedure. So far we have not had the provision to enter that procedure. By obtaining information through such institutions, under the powers of this Commission, the methods that can be used to take over the money earned via improper means by working with STAR, and the same applies to assets in other countries.

Sexual bribes

When it is not possible to bribe with money, some people demand sexual bribes. But this Act makes a reference in that regard as well; specifically curbing things like sexual bribery.

Provisions are also made to protect informants via the Victims and Witness Protection Act, especially those who have information regarding bribery and corruption and are showing reluctance to provide information. There are provisions in the Act to protect them in relation to providing information.

There are also cases where some people are said to be corrupt and fraudulent without any real evidence. In this regard, it is possible to act against a person who makes false complaints and false accusations.

It provides for severe punishment against parties who make false allegations to assassinate one’s character, to defame one’s office, to harm one’s family. The aggrieved parties can proceed legally against the complainant.

Also, an independent board of directors is appointed to search for information about assets. Larger powers can be given for this purpose and it will be possible to check the assets of those institutions through the Internet. All these major institutions have been coordinated and given wide powers.

Due to the importance of this Act, it was passed in Parliament unanimously. We should think positively to achieve progress in this Bill initiated by the Good Governance government. And if there are negatives, action is more productive than criticism.

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