A man was allegedly tortured by the police while in their custody. The man died in custody. The man’s widow petitioned the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka on behalf of her deceased husband. The Supreme Court cited the Convention Against Torture, and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and held that the widow not only had the right to file suit on behalf of her deceased husband, but also that there existed in Sri Lanka a constitutionally protected right not to deprive of life, as well as a right to life. The Court said, “The interpretation that the right to compensation accrues to or devolves on the deceased's lawful heirs and/or dependants brings our law into conformity with international obligations and standards, and must be preferred.” The Court then ordered a total compensation of 800,000 rupees to the wife and child of the deceased.

[ link ] 

Fourteen defendants were awaiting trial and all but one had been released on bail. The respective court had ordered them all to be remanded back into custody on the sole ground that the trial was being held on four days of the week. The defendants appealed this remand, arguing that it was an arbitrary refusal of bail in violation of the Sri Lankan constitution. However, the court rejected their appeal, saying that the remand was an “interim order” against which there was no right of appeal. The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka held that the defendants had been denied bail arbitrarily. In so holding, the Court cited Article 9 of the UDHR and also Article 9 of the ICCPR when it said that “[t]he right to liberty and security of person is a basic tenet of our public law and is universally recognized as a human right guaranteed to every person”. The Court held that granting bail was the rule, not the exception, and that a court could only refuse bail for certain reasons laid out in Sri Lankan law. The Court then quashed the previous order refusing the defendants bail.

[ link ]