The Hon. Harshana Nanayakkara, Attorney-at-Law - Minister of Justice and National Integration

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, I move: “That the Bill be now read a Second time.”

¶ 02 Additionally, I present Item 2 today—the Foreign Loans (Repeal) Bill.

¶ 03 Hon. Speaker, instead of addressing each problem in isolation, consider public sentiment: ordinary people are most reluctant to go to courts. Lawyers and litigants go—it is their vocation—but witnesses and uninvolved citizens resist due to delays and lost time. Professionals complain of wasted hours. This crisis did not arise in one term; it is the result of decades of neglect. The people have entrusted this Government to resolve it.

¶ 04 One key reform is to reduce prison congestion and case delays by deploying modern technology. This Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill introduces contemporaneous audio-visual linkage for proceedings, a long-overdue step.

¶ 05 Under the amendment to section 144, testimony and applications can be taken via secure, contemporaneous audio-visual link without physical presence, with safeguards for reliability. During COVID-19, courts used Zoom without explicit statutory footing; now we provide a legal basis.

¶ 06 Key features: - Extensions of remand, bail applications, and other interlocutory matters may be handled via audio-visual link at the Magistrate’s discretion, reducing costs, risks, and transport burdens for prisons and police. - Grounds to allow remote appearance include risks to the accused’s life or safety, public disorder concerns, escape or abduction risk during transport, or medical/ quarantine constraints. - Prison infrastructure is being equipped with audio-visual links nationwide; courts will be staffed to manage sessions. Rights of the accused are protected: counsel may appear in court; registrars must ensure facilities for observation and confidential consultation. - The remote site is deemed part of the court for purposes of oath and proceedings. Magistrates or Judges may conduct in-person inspections within 48 hours where necessary; defense counsel may attend such inspections. - Mandatory physical production remains for first production after arrest and where allegations of torture or rights violations are raised; audio-visual methods shall not be used in such instances. - Witnesses may testify via audio-visual link during inquiry or trial, including from overseas posts (via commission/consular facilitation), with verification of identity and oversight to ensure voluntariness and prevent coaching. Government Analysts and other officials can testify remotely, saving substantial time. - Provisions address technical failures and continuity of proceedings.

¶ 07 This will save time for citizens, children in care homes, officials, and reduce risks in transporting high-risk detainees. Implementation will have “teething issues,” but we must proceed. I thank the many judges, lawyers, and experts who contributed over years to this collective reform. I commend the Bill for Second Reading.

¶ 08 - Question proposed.