Sri Lanka has nearly 40,000 people behind bars – but only about 10,000 are convicted prisoners. Around 30,000 are on remand and the Justice Minister says roughly 23,000 of them are connected to drug offences. Now the Government is changing the bail law and promising drug-analysis reports within three months. The bigger question is why the system was allowed to become so clogged in the first place.
There is a fundamental difference between a prisoner and a remand prisoner. One has been convicted. The other may still be waiting for the State to prove its case.
Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara said last month that Sri Lanka was holding nearly 40,000 inmates, of whom only around 10,000 were convicted prisoners. Approximately 30,000 were on remand, and roughly 23,000 were connected to drug-related offences.
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When police seize a substance alleged to be heroin, methamphetamine or another prohibited drug, the criminal justice system ultimately needs scientific analysis to establish what the substance actually is and its relevant weight. That work falls principally upon the Government Analyst’s Department.
The Justice Minister says that when the present Government assumed office there were 118 vacancies in the Government Analyst’s Department. About 70 personnel have since been recruited, while officers have been working extended hours to clear outstanding reports.
The Government is now promising something measurable: drug-related forensic reports are to be issued within three months.
Changes introduced in 2022 meant that where the pure quantity of a dangerous drug was 10 grams or above, in circumstances covered by the legislation and carrying death or life imprisonment, bail could only be granted by the Court of Appeal and only in exceptional circumstances.
The Government now intends to change that system again. Nanayakkara says legislation is being prepared to restore access to the High Court for bail where the relevant drug quantity is below 100 grams, rather than requiring those applications to travel to the Court of Appeal.
Behind every case number is a person who may spend months in prison before a court has determined whether he or she is guilty. Every unnecessary day in remand also adds another person to an already overcrowded prison system.
None of this means Sri Lanka should become soft on narcotics. Trafficking in dangerous drugs is a serious criminal problem. But being tough on drugs and being careless about due process are not the same thing.
The three-month target should be watched closely. How many drug samples are presently awaiting analysis? What is the oldest outstanding sample? How many reports are being completed each month? And, three months from now, has the backlog actually fallen?
Remand is supposed to facilitate justice. It should never become a substitute for punishment before conviction.
