Justice Minister Ali Sabry

SRI LANKA: CABINET NOD TO AMEND CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ON DEATH SENTENCE FOR MINORS

December 14, 2021:

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.
The cabinet office said in a statement on 14 December 2021 that the proposal was made by Justice Minister Ali Sabry.
Article 53 of Sri Lanka’s Penal Code states that the “sentence of death shall not be pronounced on or recorded against any person who, in the opinion of the court, is under the age of eighteen years; but, in lieu of that punishment, the court shall sentence such person to be detained during the President’s pleasure.
Section 281 of the Criminal Procedure Code, meanwhile, states: “Where any person convicted of an offence punishable with death, appears to the court to be under the age of eighteen years, the court shall pronounce on that person in lieu of the sentence of death the sentence provided by section 53 of the Penal code.”
The cabinet statement noted that the Criminal Procedure Code Act does not provide for the imposition of the death penalty on a person under the age of 18 at the time of the offense.
“Therefore, it has been identified that the Code of Criminal Procedure Act also should be amended accordingly to remove the existing uncertainty,” the statement said.