Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Law Final
Law Final
Legal Environment
Group: B1
Sub Group: 13
Group Members and Contribution
0
Freedom of Speech & Expression and Right to Truth
22441 M. V. T. Recommendations
GUNASEKARA
Plagiarism Statement
1
Freedom of Speech & Expression and Right to Truth
“We, 22436, 22437, 22438, 22439, 22440, 22441, 22442, 22443, 22444, 22445, 22468,
hereby declare that this essay, submitted to the Legal Studies Unit of the Faculty of
own, original work; wherever another author’s work has been used, it was done using the
of the above, we will be subject to a fitting penalty in accordance with the examination
2
Freedom of Speech & Expression and Right to Truth
Contents
1. Introduction...........................................................................................................................4
4.1 Example.............................................................................................................9
5. History and development of Freedom of Speech and Expression and Right to Truth
Tru in Sri Lanka........................................................................................................................10
7. Drawbacks in Sri Lankan law related to Freedom of Speech and Expression and
and Right to Truth.....................................................................................................................14
8.1 India.................................................................................................................18
9. Recommendations..............................................................................................................23
10. Conclusion...........................................................................................................................24
11. Bibilography........................................................................................................................25
1. INTRODUCTION
3
Freedom of Speech & Expression and Right to Truth
Rights are the primary rights specified in a country’s constitution whereas, Human Rights
are the universal rights that can be enjoyed by every human being no matter where they
live.
Thus, Freedom of speech and expression and right to truth can be recognized as vital
in most countries due to its contribution towards ensuring the democracy of civilians.
4
Freedom of Speech & Expression and Right to Truth
citizens. It provides each and every person a platform to express their thoughts freely and
allows the ideas to be challenged and changed for better understanding. Furthermore, free
5
Freedom of Speech & Expression and Right to Truth
failure to confirm the truth about the disappearance of the people at that time. Thereafter,
the concept that the family members of the victims should know about the true fate of
the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) determined that every citizen
has an "inalienable and autonomous right"4 to truth. The International Convention for the
Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance guarantees that victims of forced
Accordingly, right to truth refers to the human right of victims, their families and the
society to access the truth of what happened in case of a grave violation of human rights.
rights, and compensation to the victims. Most importantly, right to truth directs the state
to take steps to prevent the re-occurrence of violation and to change national laws
appropriately.
3
Right to truth - Wikipedia. (2020, December 6). Right to Truth - Wikipedia; en.wikipedia.org.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_truth#:~:text=Right%20to%20truth%20is%20the,the%20truth
%20of%20what%20happened.
4
Right to truth - Wikipedia. (2020, December 6). Right to Truth - Wikipedia; en.wikipedia.org.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_truth#:~:text=Right%20to%20truth%20is%20the,the%20truth
%20of%20what%20happened.
6
Freedom of Speech & Expression and Right to Truth
Freedom of speech and expression and right to truth are not conflicting rights. Yet, does
free speech inevitably leads towards truth? It is quite doubtful. Freedom of speech is
People share ideas and make assertions with different thoughts in their minds, and due to
human biases and different perspectives of people, truth will not be perfectly known.
Therefore, free speech is not always truthful, it can even be wrong or partially wrong,
because of which we have to argue, debate, perform tests and researches on the assertions
people make with their freedom to speech, in order to know the truth or to eliminate a lot
of false assumptions. Hence, free speech does not inevitably lead towards the truth at all
times.5
However, it has to be noted that if freedom to speech and expression was absent, the truth
will be never revealed to the world. Therefore, it could be understood that even though
free speech does not inevitably lead towards the truth, it is an important element in
4.1 Example
5
Lukianoff, G., & Strossen, N. (2022, March 18). Does free speech ‘inevitably’ lead towards truth? Is the
‘Marketplace of Ideas’ a broken metaphor? Part 13 of answers to arguments against free speech from
Nadine Strossen and Greg Lukianoff - FIRE. FIRE; www.thefire.org. https://www.thefire.org/does-free-
speech-inevitably-lead-towards-truth-is-the-marketplace-of-ideas-a-broken-metaphor-part-13-of-
answers-to-arguments-against-free-speech-from-nadine-stros/
7
Freedom of Speech & Expression and Right to Truth
This proves that freedom of speech and expression does not always reflect truth as Mr.
Ramanayake’s statement, which he made with his freedom to speech, was proven guilty
in the courts.
6
Sooriyagoda, L. (1200, June 23). Ranjan gets 4 years RI for Contempt of Court | Daily News. Daily News;
www.dailynews.lk. https://www.dailynews.lk/2021/01/13/local/238676/ranjan-gets-4-years-ri-contempt-
court
8
Freedom of Speech & Expression and Right to Truth
states,
publications”7
“Every person is entitled to the freedom of speech and expression including publication
and this right shall include the freedom to express opinions and to seek, receive and
communicate information and ideas either orally, in writing, in print, in the form of art, or
The ICCPR, which is a key international human treaty providing numerous protections
for civil and political rights, has expressed freedom of speech and expression as a
universal human right. The Sri Lankan Government consented to comply with ICCPR in
7
Kishali Pinto Jayawardena, December 2005, Right to Information in Sri Lanka- Critical Scrutiny of Existing
Laws and Proposed Law Reform
8
Kishali Pinto Jayawardena, December 2005, Right to Information in Sri Lanka- Critical Scrutiny of Existing
Laws and Proposed Law Reform
9
Freedom of Speech & Expression and Right to Truth
Moreover, Article19 has worked since 1993 with a number of bodies established to fulfill
right to truth.
Even though there is no legal obligation for its member countries to follow UDHR
guidelines, all members around the world share the fundamental values of UDHR
collectively. Sri Lanka, who became a member of the UN on 14 th December 1955 has
However, in Sri Lanka, an article has not yet been passed to protect one’s right to truth.
Thus, the obligation of Sri Lanka to fulfill right to truth, as guaranteed by Article 19, is
not absolute. It is limited by the same exceptions which apply to the right to freedom of
In January 2015, seven years after the end of the war, the government of President
Maithripala Sirisena opened the discussion on ensuring the right to truth of disappeared
people during the war. The initiation was taken by the former Foreign Minister, Mangala
Samaraweera during his address to the 30 th Session of Human Rights Council in Geneva
9
SL to establish truth & reconciliation commission, missing persons office | Daily FT. (2015, September 15).
SL to Establish Truth & Reconciliation Commission, Missing Persons Office | Daily FT; www.ft.lk.
https://www.ft.lk/article/470361/SL-to-establish-truth---reconciliation-commission--missing-persons-
office
10
SL to establish truth & reconciliation commission, missing persons office | Daily FT. (2015, September 15).
SL to Establish Truth & Reconciliation Commission, Missing Persons Office | Daily FT; www.ft.lk.
https://www.ft.lk/article/470361/SL-to-establish-truth---reconciliation-commission--missing-persons-
office
10
Freedom of Speech & Expression and Right to Truth
of Missing Persons (OMP), a Judicial Mechanism with a Special Counsel, and an Office
for Reparations.
Going forward, the government renewed these commitments in two further UNHRC
resolutions in 2017 and 2019, and established the OMP and the Office on Reparations to
ensure the right to truth of the victims and their families, but made slow progress. 11
However, with the government change in November 2019, they took no further actions
towards ensuring the truth fearing that the work of the OMP will enable war crime
charges to be brought against the Sri Lankan military. The government also stated that it
According to the research, it was discovered that there are no case laws with regard to
ensuring right to truth in Si Lanka. However, there are some cases regarding enforced
disappearances and mass graves which were either dropped or stopped proceeding.
11
Kishali Pinto Jayawardena, December 2005, Right to Information in Sri Lanka- Critical Scrutiny of Existing
Laws and Proposed Law Reform
11
Freedom of Speech & Expression and Right to Truth
However, in August 2021 the Attorney General’s Department decided not to proceed
with charges against Karannagoda,12 on the basis that he was politically targeted by the
previous government
12 Figure
6.2: People converged on the
Sri Lanka: Authorities falter on accountability in Navy 11 case. (2021, August 4). Amnesty International;
Sooriyakanda site
www.amnesty.org. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/08/sri-lanka-authorities-falter-on-
Sunday Observer, 2018
accountability-in-navy-11-case/
13
Sooriyakanda Mass Grave - Wikipedia. (2009, January 2). Sooriyakanda Mass Grave - Wikipedia;
12
Freedom of Speech & Expression and Right to Truth
Even though, the civilians and report writers have interpreted these cases, reasons behind
them in their own way using the freedom to speech and expression, it cannot be proven
they are true. Thus, in order to ensure the right to truth these cases have to be solved
legally in front of law to bring justice for the victims and their families.
en.wikipedia.org. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sooriyakanda_mass_grave
14
Nine accused in Pradeep Eknaligoda abduction case remanded. (2022, June 23). Nine Accused in
Pradeep Eknaligoda Abduction Case Remanded; www.adaderana.lk.
http://www.adaderana.lk/news/82850/nine-accused-in-pradeep-eknaligoda-abduction-case-remanded
13
Freedom of Speech & Expression and Right to Truth
Figure 7: ‘A curse’: Three years since Easter Sunday there is freedom of speech and
bombings in Sri Lanka
SAWM, 2022 expression, it is doubtful whether it
Accordingly, drawbacks in Sri Lankan law related to freedom of speech and expression
Even though Sri Lanka has passed the Right to Information Act, No. 12 of 2016 to ensure
the right to receive information along with right to truth, the act is not sufficient to ensure
the latter, as the legislation is unlikely to answer questions regarding civil war, with its
This is a major issue in Sri Lankan proceedings in revealing the hidden truth of massacres
and disappearance of civilians. The most recent incident is the Easter Sunday attack on
21st April 2019. 253 casualties were found covering three churches and three luxury
14
Freedom of Speech & Expression and Right to Truth
hotels in the commercial capital Colombo.15 Although, it has been 3 years, the committee
appointed for investigations has not yet been able to identify the convicts and the
Even though a truth commission was established by the prior government in 2016, with
the government change in November 2019 the activities of the commission was halted.
As a result, no effective actions have been taken as of today in order to ensure the right of
truth of victims and their families who were murdered and forcefully disappeared under
the name of civil war that prevailed in the country for 30 years.
Lack of transparency:
In Sri Lanka, many cases relevant to forcible disappearance were closed or dropped
without a proper judgement, questioning the transparency of the legal system. One of the
best examples is where, the Attorney General’s Office decided not to proceed with
charges against Wasantha Karannagoda, a former Navy commander, over his suspected
Misuse of political power to favor the accused, is a major drawback in ensuring, one’s
right to truth. There have been cases where the Attorney General had withdrawn cases
15
Sri Lanka begins trials connected to 2019 Easter Sunday bombings | Sri Lanka Bombing News | Al Jazeera.
(202123, November 23). Sri Lanka Begins Trials Connected to 2019 Easter Sunday Bombings | Sri Lanka
Bombing News | Al Jazeera; www.aljazeera.com. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/23/sri-
lanka-trials-2019-easter-sunday-bombings
16
Sri Lanka: Authorities falter on accountability in Navy 11 case. (2021, August 4). Amnesty International;
www.amnesty.org. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/08/sri-lanka-authorities-falter-on-
accountability-in-navy-11-case/
15
Freedom of Speech & Expression and Right to Truth
without any reasoning, since the suspects were members of the military or government
Even though Sri Lankan Law clearly express the right to freedom of speech and
expression, due to the lack of effective victim and witness protection, it is quite doubtful
whether right to truth would be effective. As a result, witnesses will be reluctant to use
their freedom of speech to provide witness, with the fear of life threats.
This Act protect the security forces personnel and other public officials against
prosecution for acts committed "in good faith" in the period 1977-1988. 17 As a result, the
crimes conducted by these officials have not been prosecuted, obstructing the right to
truth and justice of the victims and their families during those periods.
8.1 India
Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution states that all citizens have the right to freedom
17
Refworld, October 1994, An agenda for chance Freedom of speech and expression in Sri Lanka, ISBN 1
870798570
Figure 8.1: India's section 66A scrapped: Win for
free speech, BBC News, 2015 16
Freedom of Speech & Expression and Right to Truth
Union of India,18 the Supreme Court held that the freedom of speech and expression has
no geographical limitation
gather information and exchange thoughts freely, with others in India and abroad by word
of mouth, writing, printing, pictures or any other mode. However, Indian law does not
provide absolute right on freedom of speech and expression, as the Article 19(2) 19 of the
constitution has imposed certain restrictions on the above, to ensure security of the state,
Right to truth has been incorporated to the Indian legal jurisdiction through the landmark
the facts and circumstances of the grave human rights in the conflict-affected areas.
Recognition of right to truth enable victims to legally compel the State to conduct a
‘prompt and effective’ investigation into the complaints of human rights abuses, to take
18
Adhil Saifudheen, P. T., Fatima, K., Bakshi, G. K., Parikshith, N., Leaflet, T., Tyagi, L., & Ahlawat, U.
(2019, January 11). The Right to Truth and the struggle against State impunity – The Leaflet. The Leaflet – An
Independent Platform for Cutting-Edge, Progressive, Legal, and Political Opinion.; theleaflet.in.
https://theleaflet.in/the-right-to-truth-and-struggle-against-state-impunity/#:~:text=The
%20Constitution%20of%20India%20and,read%20from%20other%20fundamental%20rights.
19
Adhil Saifudheen, P. T., Fatima, K., Bakshi, G. K., Parikshith, N., Leaflet, T., Tyagi, L., & Ahlawat, U.
(2019, January 11). The Right to Truth and the struggle against State impunity – The Leaflet. The Leaflet – An
Independent Platform for Cutting-Edge, Progressive, Legal, and Political Opinion.; theleaflet.in.
https://theleaflet.in/the-right-to-truth-and-struggle-against-state-impunity/#:~:text=The
%20Constitution%20of%20India%20and,read%20from%20other%20fundamental%20rights.
20
Adhil Saifudheen, P. T., Fatima, K., Bakshi, G. K., Parikshith, N., Leaflet, T., Tyagi, L., & Ahlawat, U.
(2019, January 11). The Right to Truth and the struggle against State impunity – The Leaflet. The Leaflet – An
Independent Platform for Cutting-Edge, Progressive, Legal, and Political Opinion.; theleaflet.in.
https://theleaflet.in/the-right-to-truth-and-struggle-against-state-impunity/#:~:text=The
%20Constitution%20of%20India%20and,read%20from%20other%20fundamental%20rights.
17
Freedom of Speech & Expression and Right to Truth
necessary action of prosecution and disciplinary proceedings and to disclose the truth and
It also strengthens the diminishing legal significance of the right to access justice in
Article 21 of the Constitution,21 which has been highly non-applicable for families of
victims of grave human rights abuses, demanding a prompt, effective and adequate
investigation.
Moreover, the enforcement of right to truth enable investigation into past abuses
perpetrated by armed forces, police and other state machinery and serves a fundamental
Both Sri Lanka and India have faced numerous situations where the armed forces had
used their power to violate human rights in means of enforced disappearance. However, it
is clear that India has taken effective actions against such convicts irrespective of their
status unlike in Sri Lanka where the cases related to right to truth of mass graves and
21
Adhil Saifudheen, P. T., Fatima, K., Bakshi, G. K., Parikshith, N., Leaflet, T., Tyagi, L., & Ahlawat, U.
(2019, January 11). The Right to Truth and the struggle against State impunity – The Leaflet. The Leaflet – An
Independent Platform for Cutting-Edge, Progressive, Legal, and Political Opinion.; theleaflet.in.
https://theleaflet.in/the-right-to-truth-and-struggle-against-state-impunity/#:~:text=The
%20Constitution%20of%20India%20and,read%20from%20other%20fundamental%20rights.
18
Freedom of Speech & Expression and Right to Truth
punish grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. To combat
impunity, the system developed regional standards on right to truth, and states and civil
methods.
Even though the Inter-American Human Rights Instruments do not expressly recognize
right to truth, both the IACHR and the Inter-American Court have established the
substance of right to truth whereas the American Declaration and the American
Convention has recognized it as a guarantee. According to the Truth Commission and the
Court, right to truth is linked to the rights of judicial guarantees and protection enshrined
22
Bill of Rights Institute. (2001, July 1). Bill of Rights Institute; live-bri-dos.pantheonsite.io. https://live-bri-
dos.pantheonsite.io/resources/freedom-of-speech-general
19
Freedom of Speech & Expression and Right to Truth
in Articles XVIII and XXIV of the American Declaration, as well as Articles 8 and 25 of
Similarly, in some cases, right to truth is linked to the right to information, which is
protected under Article IV of the American Declaration and Article 13 of the American
Convention. 24
These articles emphasize the victims', their family members' and the entire society’s right
to know the truth about the events that led to serious violations of human rights, identify
those who participated in the violations, in order to prevent such from repeating.
When considering the legal situation of enforcing right to truth, it is evident that USA has
a strong legal system addressing different aspects of right to truth through many articles
unlike in Sri Lanka where the constitution does not clearly recognize the civilian’s right
to truth.
9. RECOMMENDATIONS
23
Bill of Rights Institute. (2001, July 1). Bill of Rights Institute; live-bri-dos.pantheonsite.io. https://live-bri-
dos.pantheonsite.io/resources/freedom-of-speech-general
24
Bill of Rights Institute. (2001, July 1). Bill of Rights Institute; live-bri-dos.pantheonsite.io. https://live-bri-
dos.pantheonsite.io/resources/freedom-of-speech-general
20
Freedom of Speech & Expression and Right to Truth
expression and right to truth, and the drawbacks in ensuring effective right to truth, below
victims and their families to discover the truth behind human right violations
regarding abuses and promote measures to ensure that they are never repeated.
Amend and revoke the laws in Sri Lanka that contain indemnity clauses that
obstruct the full investigations of human right violations. This will ensure that
none of the security forces and public officials can escape the justice after
engaging in human right violations under the cover of acting “in good faith” with
Ensure that the investigations are carried out according to the International
include the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from
Enforced Disappearance into national law so that the right to truth of victims can
Ensure that the culprits are brought to justice, the victims and their families are
findings are made public, so that the truth is made known to the entire world.
21
Freedom of Speech & Expression and Right to Truth
Take steps to ensure the protection of victims and witnesses involved. For
effective protection, the state should use available protection mechanisms and
define the specific criteria under which protection will be provided and who will
have access to the personal information of the witnesses and the victims.
Establish an act to ensure the right to truth of the victims, their families and the
reveal truth and to know whether the information provided is truthful and reliable.
Initiate and continue events to memorize the victims, make apologies and to admit
10. CONCLUSION
The right to freedom of speech and expression and right to truth are two integral human
speech does not guarantee the protection of right to truth. However, in absence of
22
Freedom of Speech & Expression and Right to Truth
freedom to speech, the truth can’t be realized under any circumstances, proving, right to
enhances each other. According to the report it could be understood that Sri Lanka has
not yet initiated effective measures to ensure the right to truth of victims from enforced
11. BIBILOGRAPHY
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech
23
Freedom of Speech & Expression and Right to Truth
https://www.thefire.org/does-free-speech-inevitably-lead-towards-truth-is-the-
marketplace-of-ideas-a-broken-metaphor-part-13-of-answers-to-arguments-
against-free-speech-from-nadine-stros/
declaration-of-human-rights
pradeep-eknaligoda-abduction-case-remanded
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prageeth_Eknaligoda
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_truth#:~:text=Right%20to%20truth%20is
%20the,the%20truth%20of%20what%20happened.
gets-4-years-ri-contempt-court
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sooriyakanda_mass_grave
https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/asia-and-the-pacific/south-asia/sri-lanka/
report-sri-lanka/
24
Freedom of Speech & Expression and Right to Truth
10. Sri Lanka: Authorities falter on accountability in Navy 11 case. (2022). Retrieved
authorities-falter-on-accountability-in-navy-11-case/
11. The Agenda for Chance : The Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression in Sri
https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/475418a40.pdf
Constitution of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Journal Of Humanities, 39(1-2), 81. doi:
10.4038/sljh.v39i1-2.7222
25