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LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL
UNIT
In
fulfilment of CPA's mandate to promote conflict transformation and
governance, the Legal and Constitutional Unit undertakes research
and advocacy on issues of Constitutional Reform and Conflict Transformation,
Law Reform, Electoral Reform and Human Rights through the following
activities:
- Public
Interest Litigation
CPA sponsors and initiates litigation on matters of constitutional
and human rights significance. Thus, CPA has challenged, inter
alia, the pass system imposed on residents of the North, the disenfranchisement
of voters in the LTTE controlled areas and the 18th and 19th Amendments
to the Constitution.
- Seminars,
Workshops and Public Lectures
The Legal and Constitutional Unit regularly organises seminars,
workshops and public lectures, often with the participation of
foreign experts, on such themes as comparative Constitutional
models, the peace process, the independence of the judiciary.
- Projects
The Unit carries out research and advocacy projects on Freedom
of Information, Child Labour & Child Trafficking, Labour,
HIV/AIDS,
Internally Displaced Persons,
Small Arms, Indigenous People and Constitutional Reform and Women
Workers of the Free Trade Zone.
- Publications
The Unit has released publications analysing judicial decisions,
constitutional reform and HIV/AIDS.
- Sri
Lanka Broadcast Media Report- "An Investigation into
the Closure of CBNSat and Implications for Sri Lankan Broadcast
Media" written by Ms. Ruha Devanesan for June-August 2006.
The
Co-Directors of the Legal and Constitutional Unit are Mr. Rohan
Edrisinha, Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo
and Ms. Cyrene Siriwardhana, Attorney-at-Law. The Unit currently
consists of seven Researchers, Ms. Bhavani Fonseka,
Mr. Shalindra Mylvaganam, Mr. Chatura Randeniya, Ms. Araliya Senapathi,
Ms. Shaina Zahir, Ms. Sundari de Alwis and Mr. Asanga Welikala.
Ms. Lilanka Botejue, Research Assistant, is also part of the
unit.
In addition,
each
year,
the Unit hosts
a number of interns from Universities in Canada and the United
States.
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