The Centre was commissioned by
the Sri Lanka Law Commission to research two neglected
areas in the Justice System in Sri Lanka, namely the
protection of witnesses and the rights of victims
of crime.
The Centre was entrusted by US
AID with research on a comparative study of the Anti
Corruption legislation and institutional structure
in Sri Lanka. Comparisons with other jurisdictions
such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia were involved
in this study.
The World Future Council based
in Germany, of which Judge Weeramantry is a founding
member, requested the Centre to conduct a study of
the teachings of the great religions on the long-term
human future.
The Centre collaborated with
the International Committee of the Red Cross in organizing
a seminar on Customary International Humanitarian
Law on 1st December 2006, at the Taj Samudra Hotel,
Colombo.
The Medical Faculty of Harvard
University has been in the vanguard of research on
Xenotransplantation – the transplantation of
animal organs into human bodies to meet the shortage
of organs from human donors.
On 23rd April 2007 the launch
took place of the International Campaign to Abolish
Nuclear Weapons in Australia. The Meeting was held
in Parliament House Melbourne and the Keynote Speech
was delivered by Judge Weeramantry on the “Legal
and Moral Imperatives for Nuclear Abolition”.
He also spoke on the growing Nuclear Threat.
On 28th June 2007 there was an
annual meeting of ANZSIL held in Canberra. Judge Weeramantry
delivered the Keynote address on Restoring the Rule
of Law in International Affairs.
Multicultural Youth Camps
Youth camp for fifty, (50) children from multi-ethnic
and multi-religious backgrounds was organised in
association with the Institute of Integral Education,
Piliyandala August 2002.
Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim children were taught about
each other’s cultural traditions for two days,
placed in each other’s houses for five days
and brought together again for two days. This was
a great success and the children have expressed
the view that they are friends for life.
Conference for School Principals
Work has commenced with the Ministry of Education
especially with the Ministry’s Peace Education
Department to promote human rights and peace education
within schools. As a preliminary project Judge Weeramantry
addressed over 400 School Principals and Education
Officials at the Education Ministry on 20th July
2002 on the importance of including peace education
in the school curriculum. A sequel to this seminar
is being organised where the target audience would
consist of students of schools and institutions
of higher education.
Publications of Peace Studies
The Centre prepares illustrated
booklets containing much information on Peace related
matters The World Court: Its Conception, Constitution
and Contribution. These are written at a level readily
understood by children of the ages of fifteen and
sixteen.
Free Distribution of Publications
Five hundred copies of the above
publication were distributed free to five hundred
schools in Sri Lanka.
Translations of the above are being done made into
Sinhala and Tamil.
A Vademecum of Peace Studies
Jointly authored by Judge Weeramantry
and Dr. Arthur Eyffinger, the former Chief Librarian
of the International Court of Justice and one of
the world’s leading authorities on the history
of peace, this project is well under way. Its objective
is to produce an attractive illustrated book which
could be used by schools throughout the world.
Peace Seminars for School Leaders
In Association with Rotaract club
the Centre has provided sessions on peace studies
for school prefects and school leaders. Judge Weeramantry
has addressed a meeting of around 50 school leaders
at the Mt.Lavinia Hotel. He has also addressed plenary
sessions of Rotary International on the theme of
carrying peace studies to school leaders.
Island Wide essay competition
The Centre has offered prizes
for the best essay (Rs. 30,000 at university level
and Rs. 20,000 at school level) on cross cultural
human rights. In 2003 the prize giving was presided
over by his Excellency the Ambassador of Japan.
The prize winning essay at university level has
been published in the Sri Lanka Journal of International
Law.
Youth Camps for young graduates
In association with the South
Asia Institute of the University of Heidelberg the
Centre is organising an intensive week long work
shop for forty young graduates drawn from all the
universities of Sri Lanka who will be instructed
on all aspects of peace studies. Each participant
will be asked to carry the message to six groups
of forty students each.
Seminar on Nuclear Weapons
A seminar was organised at the
Hotel Galadari in association with the Bar Association
of Sri Lanka on the theme of nuclear weapons. It
was an interdisciplinary seminar conveying both
legal and scientific information and was addressed
on legal aspects by Judge Weeramantry and Mr. Jayantha
Dhanapala the Former
Under Secretary General for Disarmament of the United
Nations
and on the scientific aspects by Professor Osmund
Jayaratne
retired professor of Physics and former President
of the Colombo
campus and Dr. Rosa a specialist in nuclear physics.
The interest of
the occasion was heightened by a donation of posters
and films
by the Mayor of Hiroshima. It was attended by over
two hundred
persons from all walks of life. An attractive booklet
on the
Conference proceedings has being prepared for world
wide circulation.
Seminar on International Humanitarian Law
The Centre in association with
the International Committee of the Red Cross organised
a seminar in Colombo on International Humanitarian
law and the input of the major religions into international
law.
The Seminar was addressed on special aspects of
Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam by four
speakers who have specialised in these fields. Dr.
A.T. Ariyaratne winner of the Gandhi Peace prize
and also the winner of the Magsaysay Prize spoke
on Buddhism. Dr. Arthur Eyffinger the former Chief
Librarian of the International Court of Justice
spoke on Christianity, Judge C.V. Wigneswaran, a
Judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka spoke on
Hinduism and Mr. Saleem Marsoof P.C. Additional
Solicitor General spoke on Islam. There was an attendance
of over three hundred persons. The seminar was an
important contribution to the enrichment of international
humanitarian law through cross-cultural perspectives.
In recognition of the importance of this seminar
the proceedings were published in the Sri Lanka
Journal of International Law and also in the magazine
of the Peace Unit of the Education Department.
Justice C.V. Wigneswaran, Dr A.T. Ariyaratne, Judge
C.G. Weeramantry,
Mr. Thierry Meyrat, and Mr. Jayantha Dhanapala.
Enrichment of Cultural Perspectives
Public lectures have been arranged
under the auspices of the Centre to promote cultural
awareness and understanding, as for example a lecture
to the Dutch Burgher Union by Dr. Arthur Eyffinger
on the History of the Dutch East India Company.
The lecture was arranged in connection with the
ceremonies commemorating the 400th anniversary of
the Dutch arrival in Sri Lanka.
Truth and Reconciliation
The Centre organised a major seminar
on Truth and Reconciliation - the South African
Experience at the Holiday Inn Hotel which was attended
by over two hundred persons including members of
the Diplomatic Corps, Military Forces, Police and
the general public.
The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission
has great relevance to Sri Lanka and the current
peace process. A very useful discussion followed
the presentation. The main speakers, who came to
Sri Lanka especially to address the seminar were
Professor Winston Nagan, who has direct experience
of the South African Commission and Dr. Arthur Eyffinger,
the eminent legal historian from Holland, who gave
a historical panorama of peace and reconciliation
down the ages.
Manual for Peace Education Teachers
The Centre has assisted in reviewing
a peace education manual for peace education teachers
on the invitation of Caritas Sri Lanka July 2002,
Colombo Sri Lanka.
Booklet on The World Court
The booklet titled “The
World Court, Its Conception, Constitution and Contribution”,
authored by Judge Weeramantry was published to celebrate
the launch of the Centre on 24 April 2002. 500 copies
of this book were presented to schools through the
Education Ministry and are currently being translated
into Sinhala and Tamil.
Historical Foundations of Sri Lanka’s Common
Law
Dr. Arthur Eyffinger the foremost
living authority on the work of Grotius delivered
a key note lecture on
“ The Contribution of Grotius to the Origin
and Evolution of Roman Dutch Law” on 30th
July 2002, Colombo.
Hugo Grotius- "Father of International
Law"
International Peace University
The Centre plans for a Peace University
in Sri Lanka for students from all the member states
of the United Nations.
Research Projects
This Centre takes as its fundamental
premise the propositioon that a major cause of conflicts are the
lack of understanding of each other's point of view.
Ancillary to this fundamental
premise is the assumption that lack of understanding and its associated
problems need to be urgently addressed by a concentrated programme
of research and education at all levels
It is the objective of this
Centre to play a significant role in addressing this much neglected
task
