452. Members of the Committee welcomed the objectivity and frankness shown by the Panamanian delegation and recognieed the problems associated with the transition to democracy after a long period of dictatorship. The rttport had not been prepared according to the Committee’s guidelines and was incomplete. Members were of the view that special efforts should be directed at repealing discriminatory legislation and expediting judicial proceedings against persons held in custody. Serious concerns were a.160 expressed with regard to tire expulsion procedure, the infant mortality rate, the age for marriage, restraints on trade and the exercise of professions by aliens, unionieation, the dissemination of the Covenant an8 the treatment of Chinese nationals. 453. In concluding the consideration of the second periodic rep&t of Panama, the Chairman thanked the delegation for its contribution to the constructive dialogue. The Panamanian aelegation’s presentation ha8 to some extent and it was hoped that the State compensated for the inadequacy of the report, party’s third periodic repGL’t would be in conformity with the Committee’s guidelines. 454. The Committee considered the second periodic report of Sri Lanka (CCPR/C/42/Add.9) at its 1057th to 106Otb meetings, held on 9 and 10 April 1991 (see CCPR/C/SR.1057-1060). 455. The report was introduced by the representative of the State party, who said that the Constitution of 1970 had been reviewed and that proposed amendments to the Constitution, on which the members of the Committee were invited to comment, were currently under discussion in Parliament. Sri Lanka was plagued by terrorist activities carried out by separatists in the northern and eastern provinces, and the Government had used its powers under the Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act and the Emergency Regulations to maintain the law. A skeleton civil administration was left in the northern and eastern provinces. ark Jn oar-u durinu the state vi of e- 456. With reference to that issue, members of the Committee wished to know what the status of the Covenant was within the Sri Lankan legal system and how contradictions between domestic legislation and the Covenant, if any, were resolved: whether there had been any cases during the period under review where the provisions of the Covenant were directly invoked before the courts) whether the provisions of article 155 of the Constitution relating to parliamentary control of the proclamation of a state of emergency had been effectively applied: what had been the impact of the state of emergency on the exercise of the rights guaranteed under the Covenant, in particular with regard to safeguards and remedies: what was the relationship between the courts and non-judicial bodies operating uncler the state of emergency such as the Advisory Board, the committees established to monitor the activities of the security forces and to probe into the arrest of students, and the Parliamentary Commissioner (Chnbudsman) ; whether inclividuels who failea to -114-