Committee to review presidential pardon system submits comprehensive report

A comprehensive report containing recommendations to implement a more systematic, fair, and transparent framework for granting presidential pardons to prison inmates was submitted by the committee appointed to review Sri Lanka's presidential pardon system.

Committee Chairman and Retired Supreme Court Judge S. Thurairajah officially handed over the report yesterday (10) to the Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and National Integration, President’s Counsel Ayesha Jinasena, at the Ministry of Justice.

The committee comprised Retired Supreme Court Judge S. Thurairajah, Deputy Minister of Mass Media Dr Kaushalya Ariyarathne, Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and National Integration Piumanthi Peiris, Additional Solicitor General Nerin Pulle, Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (Attorney-at-Law) Asanga Karawita, Chairperson of the Bureau of Commissioner General of Rehabilitation Professor Wasantha Subasinghe, Consultant Physician Chiththahari Abeyanayake, former Acting Prisons Commissioner Nishan Dhanasinghe, Acting Commissioner General of Prisons Prasad Hemantha Kumara, Senior Assistant Secretary (Legal) Roshani Hettige, and Senior Assistant Secretary Chandima Welikala.

The Cabinet of Ministers appointed this committee on 25 June 2025 to examine the administrative shortcomings of the existing prison system and recommend reforms for the presidential pardon process.

In formulating these recommendations, the committee reviewed existing laws, judicial precedents, and the provisions of Article 34(1) of the Constitution, which vests the power of pardon in the President.

According to the Ministry of Justice and National Integration, these recommendations are expected to contribute significantly to the government's broader prison reform programme by enhancing transparency in the presidential pardon process, addressing prison overcrowding, and strengthening inmate rehabilitation.