The Use of Confessionary Evidence under the Counter-Terrorism Laws of Sri Lanka: An Interdisciplinary Study Available to Purchase

Visakesa Chandrasekaram's The Use of Confessionary Evidence under the Counter-Terrorism Laws of Sri Lanka is the most comprehensive description and critique of the use and impact of confessions under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act No. 48 of 1979 (PTA) of Sri Lanka published so far. He describes the PTA as a tool in “a mass prosecution strategy” (p. 9), particularly against Tamils of “lower socioeconomic groups” in the “legal war” against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) (p. 123). The PTA declares confessions made to an assistant superintendent of police or above to be admissible in the prosecution of a crime. Chandrasekaram's work provides depth, breadth, and texture to the well-established finding that the use of confessions under the PTA violates fundamental principles of criminal law as well as international human rights law. He moves seamlessly in and out of a range of legal subjects, thereby offering...