The Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma has enquired from Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa regarding the progress being made with the Commonwealth Secretariat’s offer of advice and assistance with legislative drafting.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma received the Speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament at Marlborough House, headquarters of The Commonwealth in London on Friday (2).

The Secretary-General enquired from the Speaker about progress being made with the Commonwealth Secretariat’s offer of advice and assistance with legislative drafting, a statement said.

The Secretariat had earlier offered to draft legislation required to ensure that legislative and other changes relating to the appointment and removal of senior judicial figures, and the independence of the judiciary, in Sri Lanka can be introduced to Parliament and implemented.

During his visits to Sri Lanka in 2012 and 2013, the Secretary-General agreed with the Government of Sri Lanka that The Commonwealth would make analysis and assistance available on these matters.

The idea was to ensure that such processes are free of contention and do not call into question Sri Lanka’s commitment to the Commonwealth’s Latimer House Principles on the separation of powers, the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary.

The Secretary-General welcomed the agreement of the Sri Lankan Parliament to host a regional gathering of Commonwealth parliamentarians, the statement said.

The rationale is to strengthen their capacity to advance and uphold the rule of law and human rights. The Commonwealth Secretariat in partnership with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, has already undertaken such capacity-building work with parliamentarians in the Caribbean and African regions.

Meanwhile the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the UK, Dr Chris Nonis, hosted a gathering in London in honour of Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa.

The Speaker, who is the immediate Past President of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association(CPA), was in the UK to attend the meeting of the Executive Committee of the CPA.