36 Petitions Against Sri Lanka’s Terrorism Bill: The Constitutional Test Widens

Parliament’s latest official count shows a sharp expansion of constitutional challenges to the proposed replacement for the PTA. The number does not decide the case — but it makes transparent judicial scrutiny more important.

22 October 2026 • Lanka Witness Evidence Desk

Sri Lanka’s Parliament said on 21 October that the Speaker had received copies of eleven more petitions filed in the Supreme Court under Article 121(1) against the Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill, in addition to 25 petitions previously announced. That takes Parliament’s publicly recorded total to 36 petitions.

The figure is important but must not be misread. A petition is a constitutional challenge, not a judicial finding that the bill is unlawful. The Supreme Court’s determination — and Parliament’s response to it — will provide the authoritative constitutional test in the pre-enactment process.

Why journalists are watching

Among the challengers are media-freedom advocates. Reporting on a petition by Free Media Movement activists says they argue that provisions dealing with publications and disclosure could endanger reporting and confidential sources. Those are the petitioners’ claims and remain for the Court to assess.

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka has separately urged a narrower definition of terrorism, judicial oversight of detention, meaningful bail authority, prompt access to counsel and stronger independence for the proposed review mechanism. The Commission’s position is especially significant because it supports repeal of the PTA while arguing that terrorism offences should ordinarily be handled through general law.

Repeal is only the first test

The government can fairly point to the bill’s stated purpose of replacing the Prevention of Terrorism Act, a law long criticised domestically and internationally. But replacing a controversial statute does not by itself establish that its successor meets constitutional and international human-rights standards.

For foreign missions, UN bodies, journalists and civil society, the most useful approach is documentary: follow the Court’s determination, identify any clauses requiring amendment, and compare the final enacted text with the draft now under challenge.

Lanka Witness assessment: Thirty-six petitions do not prove thirty-six constitutional defects. They do show that concern is broad enough to demand unusually careful scrutiny. The democratic test is whether security legislation can be precise, reviewable and effective without recreating the abuses associated with exceptional law.

Image: Mystìc / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.