4GO. Replying to other questions posed by the members of the Committee, the representative explained that when an application for &@.@scorpus was filed. The a writ was issued and the person was immediately produced in court. for remedy could be filed in any of the High Court zones. Petitions meas corpu were only successful in cases where an allegation had been made of unlawful detention and the authorities were able to satisfy the court that the persons concerned were either guilty of offences or of such conduct as justified their detention. Normally the period was one week, but in cases in which the authorities alleged that the person concerned was not in fact in their custody, the necessary investigations could of course be lengthy. Recourse to the Ombudsmancould only be had through a Member of Parliament because alternative remedies were available, Applications to the Supreme Court regarding allegations of infringements of, fundamental rights had to be made within one month but the proposed amendment sought to extend that period to four months. In determining the reasonableness of any restriction on rights in Sri Lanka account was taken of the exigencies of the situation and Administrative law was used as a the nature of the restriction sought. yardstick. Article 15 (1) of the proposed amendment, dealing with permissible specifically excluded article 13 (4) which governed the right to derogations. life. BGl. The Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act No. 48 of 1979 was originally intended to remain in effect for three years but it had been necessary to keep extending it, and the limiting provision had thus been The separatists centred their claim on a traditional homeland but annulled. the principle of self-determination was interpreted in Sri Lanka as being in effect only at the point of decolonisation. The Government had tried various regional autonomy solutions and maintained an ongoing dialogue with the The repeal of a large number of customary laws could give rise separatists. to problems because of popular resistance to change, The Government was prepared to pay compensation to anyone who could establish that he or she had suffered as a result of the activities of the Indian forces but, as those forces were no longer within Sri Lankan territory, inquiries could not be made. i . . . Non-discrlmi nation and eaualitv of the sexes 462. With regard to that issue, members of the Committee wished to be provided with further information on the composition and functions of the Commission for the Elimination of Discrimination and the Monitoring of Fundamental Rights and on the results of its operation, and with statistical data on women’s participation in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the country as wall as the respective proportion of the sexes in schools and universities. They also wished to know in which respects, other than in the exercise of political rights, the rights of aliens were restricted as compared with those of citizens: whether any measures had been taken to protect the right of Sri Lankan women employed outside the country: whether Sri Lanka was party to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: whether discriminatory practices of private enterprises could be made punishable under domestic law: and what the rationale was behind the practice of depriving prisoners of their right to vote. In reply, the representative said that the Commission for the Elimination of Discrimination and the Monitoring of Fundamental Rights consisted of Persons having expertise in such areas as law, medicine, science, engineering, banking and administrative or social service. Its mandate was to eliminate 463. -116- i / f t L L i I i i, t