The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) and the Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Bills, which are due to be taken for the second reading in Parliament next week, were approved by the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Justice, Prisons and Constitutional Reforms, recently (09).

These Bills were considered at a recent meeting of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Justice, Prisons and Constitutional Reforms chaired by Hon. (Dr.) Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, Minister of
Justice, Prisons and Constitutional reforms.

The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill amends Section 442 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act No. 15 of 1979 to make provision to issue one certified copy of the judgment or final
order of the record to each of the parties to the case free of charge. The Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Bill inserts new section 154 (A) in the Civil Procedure
Code (Chapter 101) and the legal effect of the section is to exempt certain documents from formal proof at any proceedings under this Code.
This meeting was attended by several Members of Parliament including Hon. G.G Ponnambalam, Hon. Anupa Pasqual, Hon. M.A. Sumanthiran, Hon. Diana Gamage, Hon. Tharaka Balasuriya, Hon. Mayantha Dissanayake. The Secretary to the Ministry of Justice, Prisons and Constitutional Reforms Mrs. Wasantha Perera and a group of officials were also present at the occasion.