The Justice Ministry plans to present Cabinet recommendations for a standardized system governing presidential pardons, commutations, and sentence reductions for imprisoned offenders.
Sri Lanka's Minister of Justice and National Integration, Harshana Nanayakkara, announced plans to submit Cabinet proposals establishing a formal framework for granting presidential pardons to convicted prisoners. The move follows a comprehensive review conducted over ten months by a committee chaired by retired Supreme Court Justice S. Thurairaja, whose findings were recently submitted to the ministry.
The committee's recommendations encompass several measures affecting the prison system. These include creating standardized procedures for presidential pardons, commuting death sentences to life imprisonment, reducing life sentences to 20-year terms, and permitting eligible inmates to undertake home leave arrangements. According to the Minister, the proposed general pardon system would provide a structured mechanism for releasing prisoners serving death or life sentences.
During inspections of three facilities—Colombo Remand Prison, New Magazine Prison, and Welikada Prison—the Minister also addressed operational challenges within the correctional system. He highlighted delays in obtaining Government Analyst reports, which have resulted in extended remand periods for numerous inmates. The ministry has committed to streamlining this process to reduce such delays going forward.
These developments represent an effort to institutionalize prisoner release procedures, which have historically been administered on an ad hoc basis. The Cabinet's review of the committee's recommendations will determine the scope and timeline for implementing the proposed reforms across Sri Lanka's prison system.
