Colombo Page: Colombo: Sunday, August 07, 2016.
Sri Lanka's
Constitutional Council has called for nominations of eligible persons to the
Right to information Commission to be established under the recently passed
Right to Information (RTI) bill.
Under the
provisions of the Right to Information Act No. 12 of 2016, nominations are
called for the Right to Information Commission from the organizations of
publishers, editors and media persons and other civil society organizations.
According to
the announcement issued by the Acting Secretary General of the Constitutional
Council, the nominated persons should have distinguished themselves in public
life with proven knowledge, experience and eminence in the fields of law,
governance, public administration, social services, journalism, science and
technology or management.
Further, the
nominees should not be Members of Parliament, any Provincial Council or a Local
Authority or hold any public or judicial office or any other office of profit,
or be connected with any political party, or be carrying on any business or
pursuing any profession Nominations should be sent to the Constitutional
Council before 11th August 2016.
The RTI Bill
passed in parliament on 24th June, calls for the establishment of the
"Right to Information Commission".
The
Commission shall consist of five persons appointed by the President upon the
recommendation of the Constitutional Council. One person each will be nominated
by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, organizations of publishers, editors and
media persons and other civil society organizations. The persons who are
distinguished in public life with proven knowledge, experience and eminence in
law, governance, public administration, management etc. will be appointed to
this Commission. The Commission shall monitor the performance of public authorities
and information officers.