Sri Lanka
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- presidential republic
- CONSTITUTION
- August 16, 1978, amended in December 2001
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- a combination of common law, Roman-Germanic law, Kandyan systems, and Jaffna Tamil law
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- unicameral, Parliament
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- Supreme Court and Court of Appeal (judges appointed by the President)
RELIGIONS
69.1% Buddhists, 7.6% Muslims, 15% Hindus, 8% Christians, 10% unspecified
From the country
DECEMBER 14, 2021Sri LankaDEATH PENALTYSRI LANKA: CABINET NOD TO AMEND CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ON DEATH SENTENCE FOR MINORS
Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved a proposal to amend Section 281 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to remove any uncertainty over not pronouncing the death sentence on any minor.
DECEMBER 13, 2021Sri LankaDEATH PENALTYSRI LANKA: KALUTARA HIGH COURT GIVES DEATH SENTENCE TO FIVE PERSONS
The Kalutara High Court on 13 December 2021 sentenced five persons to death.
JULY 1, 2021Sri LankaDEATH PENALTYSRI LANKA: DEATH ROW PRISONERS END HUNGER STRIKE
Death row prisoners in Sri Lanka, who were on a hunger strike demanding commutation of their sentences, similar to the Presidential pardon extended to a former parliamentarian facing capital punishment earlier in the week, have ended their protest after o
- JUNE 25, 2021Sri LankaDEATH PENALTY
SRI LANKA: DEATH ROW INMATES PROTEST EX-LAWMAKER'S PARDON
About 150 death row inmates were on a hunger strike on 25 June 2021 to demand their sentences be commuted after Sri Lanka’s president pardoned a former lawmaker who had been condemned for an election-related killing.
FEBRUARY 13, 2021Sri LankaDEATH PENALTYSRI LANKA: STAY ORDER ON DEATH PENALTY EXTENDED
The Supreme Court on 11 February 2021 extended the stay order on the decision by former President Maithripala Sirisena to implement the death penalty on four drug convicts.