Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) is currently considering the appointment of new members to the RTI Commission.
The current term of the Right to Information Commission (RTI) is due to end in September. The RTI Commission is established in terms of Section 11 of the Right to Information Act No. 12 of 2016 and is subject to a term of five years. The appointment of the Information Commission, consisting of a Chairman and four members, shall be made on the recommendation of the Constitutional Council prior to the 20th Amendment to the Constitution.
However, the methodology of this appointment was slightly changed through the 20th Amendment to the Constitution due to the abolition of the Constitutional Council and the establishment of the Parliament Council instead. The role of the House of Commons in relation to these appointments is to provide the President with observations on nominations received from civil society organizations such as Bar Association of Sri Lanka and media organizations that are capable of submitting nominations as prescribed by law.
It is incumbent upon the President to seek the observations of Parliament in making such appointments.
Accordingly, Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) states that it expects the appointment of new Commissioners / Commissioners in accordance with the procedures set out in the Right to Information Act (RTI Act). The agency hopes that the President will continue to pay close attention to nominations received through the relevant groups, while maintaining the democratic system enshrined in the RTI Act.
TISL recently invited civil society organizations to join the role of civil society organizations in nominating members to the Commission and the list of nominations proposed by TISL and other civil society organizations has been submitted to Parliament (09).
Following is the list of names submitted to Parliament by other civil society organizations, including TISL, for membership of the Information Commission.
01 Dr. A.K.C.H. Mrs. Priyangani Jayasundara (Nominated by Safe Foundation)
02 Mrs. JH Nilmini Sunethra Kumari (Nominated by Child Vision Sri Lanka)
03 Mr. P. Sai Balasubramaniam (Nominated by Peoples Development Foundation)
04 Rev. Dr. Noel Dias (suggested by the Center for Social Justice and Equity)
05 Mr. D.M. Samantha Dissanayake (Nominated by Center for Human Rights and Community Development)
06 Dr. Prathibha Mahanama (Nominated by Caritas SED)
07 Mr. Sampath Pushpakumara (Nominated by Families of the Disappeared)
08 Nadaraja Sivaranjith (Nominated by Ampara NGO Consortium, Ampara)
09 Iinkaran Kugadasan (Nominated by Transparency International Sri Lanka)
Shani