Sri Lanka President orders faster court infrastructure development
Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has instructed officials to speed up court infrastructure development and relocate the Government Analyst’s Department to better-equipped premises to improve the delivery of justice.
The instructions were issued during a pre-Budget discussion held yesterday afternoon (August 4) at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo on projects implemented under the 2026 Budget allocations for the Ministry of Justice and National Integration and proposals for the 2027 Budget.
The meeting reviewed the physical and financial progress of projects carried out in 2026 by the Ministry’s main departments, statutory bodies and affiliated institutions. Future plans and proposals for the 2027 Budget were also discussed.
Particular attention was given to judicial infrastructure. President Dissanayake said the Government’s objective is to establish a judicial system capable of delivering timely justice to the public and stressed the need to accelerate the development of court facilities across the country.
The progress of several major construction projects was reviewed, including the Colombo High Court Complex, the Ministry of Justice building, the Aluthkade Court Complex and new court complexes in Galle, Matale and Kantale.
The meeting also discussed the project to construct official residences for judges, which was suspended following the economic crisis in 2022.
Projects implemented by the Attorney General’s Department under a capital allocation of Rs. 79 million and projects carried out by the Legal Draftsman’s Department with an allocation of Rs. 38 million were also reviewed.
Special attention was given to improving the capacity and efficiency of the Legal Draftsman’s Department, which has been assigned an increasingly important role. Discussions focused on strengthening its human resources and technological capabilities.
Officials said projects are being implemented by the Government Analyst’s Department under an allocation of Rs. 635 million, which may be increased to Rs. 701 million.
Laboratory equipment required by the Department is expected to be received during August. Plans to increase its monthly analytical reporting capacity to 9,000 reports were also reviewed.
The President instructed the relevant authorities to make arrangements to relocate the Government Analyst’s Department to more suitable premises with the facilities required for its work.
The Department of Prisons received the largest capital allocation under the Ministry of Justice and National Integration in the 2026 Budget.
The meeting reviewed projects implemented under its allocation of Rs. 5,627 million, including building renovations, the purchase of modern technological equipment and vehicles and the development of software systems.
Discussions also focused on improving facilities and welfare for prison officers and filling vacancies in the engineering sector through contract-based recruitment.
The financial progress of projects implemented by the Department of Community-Based Corrections was also examined.
The possibility of bringing rehabilitation programmes currently administered by several institutions, including the Police, the Ministry of Health and the Department of Social Services, under a single coordinating authority was also discussed.
The meeting reviewed the activities of several other institutions under the Ministry, including the Mediation Boards Commission, the Secretariat of the Judicial Service Commission, the Office on Missing Persons, the Office for Reparations and the Official Languages Commission.
Special attention was also given to the Government procurement process.
President Dissanayake acknowledged the difficulties in the existing system and said instructions had already been issued to develop separate procurement frameworks for specialised sectors such as digital services, healthcare and defence.
Minister of Justice and National Integration Harshana Nanayakkara, Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando, Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Chief of Staff to the President Prabath Chandrakeerthi and Senior Additional Secretary to the President Roshan Gamage attended the meeting.
Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma, Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and National Integration Ayesha Jinasena and officials from the Ministries of Finance and Justice and National Integration were also present.
