The Cabinet nod has been granted to amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure Act to give opportunity for a person arrested for committing an offence to access an Attorney-at-Law after the first statement of such a person.
“It is considered as a basic characteristic in a fair trial that a person suspected of having committed an offence and arrested thereafter should have the right to access to an Attorney at Law. After the first statement of such a person has been taken down by the Police he should be given the opportunity to meet an Attorney at Law.
The proposal made by Wijayadasa Rajapaksa, Minister of Justice, to amend the Code of Criminal Procedure to recognize the right of every person arrested to consult an Attorney at Law of his choice immediately after the recording of his first statement by the police and to provide that if the person arrested pleads that he is not possessed of the necessary resources to retain an Attorney at Law, such services to be provided by an attorney at law of the Legal Aid Commission, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers,” the Govt. said in a statement.
