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
- NOVEMBER 7, 2003Sri LankaDEATH PENALTY
A UN panel denounced persistent reports of torture...
A UN panel denounced persistent reports of torture in Sri Lanka and criticised the impunity enjoyed by security forces for crimes committed in the conflict with the Tamil Tiger rebels
- JULY 2, 2003Sri LankaDEATH PENALTY
A Sri Lankan court sentenced five people to death,...
A Sri Lankan court sentenced five people to death, including two police officers, for their role in a massacre at a detention camp housing suspected Tamil Tiger rebels and former child soldiers
- JUNE 26, 2003Sri LankaDEATH PENALTY
Shanmuga Sundaram Raghupathi, a member of Sri Lanka's...
Shanmuga Sundaram Raghupathi, a member of Sri Lanka's separatist Tamil Tiger rebels who was charged with attacking a navy base at Karainagar in the northern Karaitivu island, was sentenced to death by the Colombo High Court, Sri Lanka, The Island newspape
- APRIL 24, 2003Sri LankaDEATH PENALTY
Sri Lanka abstained from the resolution on the death...
Sri Lanka abstained from the resolution on the death penalty approved by the UN Commission on Human Rights, in Geneva
- MARCH 2, 2003Sri LankaDEATH PENALTY
Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga will oppose...
Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga will oppose moves by the government to re-implement the death penalty in the island, The Sunday Times reported
- FEBRUARY 9, 2003Sri LankaDEATH PENALTY
A visit to a Colombo prison by Sri Lanka's Interior...
A visit to a Colombo prison by Sri Lanka's Interior Minister John Amaratunga to inspect the gallows and ensure the hangman's noose is ready for use - if needed - triggered a fresh debate on the use of the death penalty to curb crime
- OCTOBER 1, 2002Sri LankaDEATH PENALTY
Sri Lanka's Colombo High Court sentenced to death three...
Sri Lanka's Colombo High Court sentenced to death three suspects charged with murdering a customs officer, the Island newspaper said
- JANUARY 11, 2002Sri LankaDEATH PENALTY
Canada's Supreme Court ruled that refugees who face...
Canada's Supreme Court ruled that refugees who face torture in their homelands "generally" cannot be deported there, unless the evidence shows that their continued presence in Canada poses a serious security risk to the country
- APRIL 3, 2001Sri LankaDEATH PENALTY
Mohamed Hussain Assar Mohamad and Mohamad Saly Mohamad...
Mohamed Hussain Assar Mohamad and Mohamad Saly Mohamad Faumi, two smugglers who were found guilty of the possession of 223
- JANUARY 16, 2001Sri LankaDEATH PENALTY
A Sri Lankan expatriate, Vina Sishabi, was hanged at...
A Sri Lankan expatriate, Vina Sishabi, was hanged at the central prison of Kuwait city
- JANUARY 9, 2001Sri LankaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia executed a Sri Lankan man for the murder...
Saudi Arabia executed a Sri Lankan man for the murder of a fellow Sri Lankan while he was sleeping
- DECEMBER 21, 2000Sri LankaDEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International accused the Sri Lankan navy of...
Amnesty International accused the Sri Lankan navy of extrajudicial killings of civilians in the country's east