The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

This questionnaire is designed with the view to make a realistic assessment of the problem of court delays with the view to develop a report which could be used in discussions for dealing with this problem. 

The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) is a sister organization of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). AHRC and ALRC have worked on the issues related to justice and human rights for over 30 years. In the course of this work, the AHRC and ALRC and their partner organizations have collected enormous amounts of information and data on the problems related to Sri Lanka’s System of Administration of Justice. All such data and information has been well documented over this entire period. This documentation is available in print by way of many books and other publications produced by the AHRC and ALRC. Most of these materials are made available on the internet. Besides books, other materials have been published through other forms of publications, such as electronic and internet publications. 

(For previous publications, please see: http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/)

The questionnaire

(All information provided by you will be treated with confidence and any personal details will be published only with the permission of the sender.)

1. The Name:
2. Address and any other contact details such as email or telephone numbers:
3. What is the nature of the cases you have direct knowledge of? 

As     

1. Complainant
2. Accused
3. Witness 
4. Or a third party involved in the case. 
5. The nature of the case:
   1. A criminal case
   1. A civil Case
   1. A constitutional issue
   1. A fundamental rights case
   1. Any other case

1. The case number/s: 

a. Name of the particular Court,

b. Details; when the Report was filed?

c. When a charge sheet or an indictment was filed?

d. When did the trial begin?

e. How many visits have you made to the courts to attend the court sessions (if possible provide the list of such dates)?

f. How long has the case taken?

g. What is the stage of the case at this time?

1. Do you think that there had been an undue delay in the adjudication of this case?
2. Was there a delay: 
   1. At the stage of taking down complaints by the police.
   1. At the stage of the investigation.
   1. Delays after the case has been filed in the court.
   1. What are the causes of delays as you pursue them?
   1. Do you think that these delays were justified? 
   1. If these delays were not justified what do you think were the reasons for these undue delays?
   1. How do you think these delays can be avoided? 
   1. Do you have any suggestions or recommendations for changes or reforms that could bring such delays under control and gradually eliminate such delays?

If you wish to give any details about your experience on such delays you may add a write up about your experience as well as your observations. 

We hope to receive the responses to these questions as early as possible and hope to develop a substantive report on this matter as early as possible and hopefully within the coming three months. The report will also include recommendations of how to bring about improvement in achieving the objective of speedy justice. 

Send your responses to:

You may kindly send your responses to the following email address or the postal address. 

Email: court.delays@ahrc.asia  

Address: Rule of Law Forum (RLF, Sri Lanka)