Publications

Sri Lanka: Resolution 30/1 Implementation Monitor: Statistical & Analytical Review No. 3

This is Verité Research’s latest study on the Sri Lankan government’s commitments on reconciliation and accountability. The ongoing UNHRC Session began on 26 February 2018, and will include a discussion on Sri Lanka’s progress in this regard. This report analyses the government’s progress in fulfilling all 36 commitments made inUNHRC Resolution 30/1, as at 26 February 2018.

Private Sector Participation in Sri Lanka’s Tertiary Education

This study presents a review of the topics relevant to the debate on private sector participation in tertiary education. These include: the structure of the tertiary education sector; the legislation underlying the establishment of tertiary education establishments; and the current quality assurance and accreditation procedures for tertiary education institutions.

ජාත්‍යන්තරව පිළිගත් ශී‍්‍ර ලාංකික සන්නාමයන් ගොඩගැනීමේ ඉදිරි පියවරක් ලෙස වෙළද ලකුණු ලියාපදිංචිය සදහා සරළ ක‍්‍රමවේදයක් හදුන්වාදීම

මැඞ්රිඞ් ප්‍රොටෝකෝලය යනු වෙළද ලකුණු විදේශයන්හි ලියාපදිංචිය සදහා ඇති සරල, ගෝලීය ක‍්‍රමවේදයකි. ශී‍්‍ර ලාංකික ව්‍යාපාරවලට වෙළද ලකුණු විදේශ රටවල ලියාපදිංචියේ දී මුහුණදීමට සිදුවන දුෂ්කරතාවයන් එමගින් සමනය කරගත හැක.මැඞ්රිඞ් ප්‍රොටෝකෝලයෙන් ප‍්‍රතිලාභ ලබාගැනීමේ දී, වෙළද ලකුණු ශී‍්‍ර ලංකාව තුළ ලියාපදිංචි කිරීම තීරණාත්මක පළමු පියවරකි.

Facilitating The Registration Of Trademarks A Step towards Creating Internationally Recognised Sri Lankan Brands (Tamil)

The Madrid Protocol is a simplified global system for registering trademarks abroad. It eases trademark registration abroad for Sri Lankan businesses. Sri Lanka is looking to complete accession to the Madrid Protocol by the end of 2017 or early 2018. However, accession to the Madrid Protocol will not necessarily help address the related challenges faced by Sri Lankan business; the challenge of registering trademarks in Sri Lanka. Verité has conducted research on the challenges faced in the process of registering trademarks in Sri Lanka and how these challenges undermine the benefits of the proposed accession to the Madrid Protocol. This policy brief presents an analysis of these issues and provides recommendations to overcome the identified obstacles.

Mapping Sri Lanka’s Political Parties

The original version of this report was commissioned by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy to assist in its work in Sri Lanka with the Sri Lankan parliament and political parties. The opinions expressed and contents of this report are not necessarily those held by Westminster Foundation for Democracy. The report was prepared by the politics research practice at Verité Research with Charudaththa Ekanayake functioning as principal researcher under the overall editorial supervision of Janeen Fernando.

Sri Lanka’s Export Problem – Not Concentration, but Composition

Sri Lanka’s exports are heavily concentrated on a few markets and a few products. The government’s recognition of export diversification as an important policy strategy to revive exports, indicates that both market and product concentration are seen as critical bottlenecks in this regard. This report compares and contrasts Sri Lanka’s export product and market concentration and its export composition against that of the world and selected Asian economies. The objective of this brief analysis is to understand where Sri Lanka stands in the world and in comparison to its neighbours that have performed well in terms of export concentration and composition.

The new Ministers of Finance: Will their budget keep its promises?

Analysis of past budgets reveal large deviations between budgeted allocations and actual expenditure. This shows that expectations set by the government during the budget speech are not honoured. This Insight analyses budgeting on social services and the rural economy to demonstrate the extent of deviations in promised allocations and actual expenditure. Results suggest that when precise expenditure is not tangible, it is easier to renege on budget promises.

A Legal & Institutional Assessment of Sri Lanka’s Justice System for Children

Criminal justice institutions re-victimise children. This report details the legal and institutional challenges impeding justice for children in Sri Lanka. The report also details specific recommendations to divert children away from the justice system, and prevent institutionalisation being a matter of first resort.

Right to Information: Discourse and Compliance in Sri Lanka

The report Right to Information: Discourse and Compliance in Sri Lanka was compiled in collaboration between Verité Research and Democracy Reporting International (DRI). Verité Research analysed the right to information in the Sri Lankan context while Democracy Reporting International detailed international best practices relating to proactive disclosure. The study examines the drafting of Sri Lanka’s RTI Act and existing laws that are inconsistent with its provisions. It recommends strategies to strengthen proactive disclosure of information, and to amend laws inconsistent with the RTI Act.

Does the Disqualification of Candidates Invalidate Nomination Papers?

The recent Court of Appeal judgement on SLFP MP Geetha Kumarasinghe’s disqualification from Parliament due to her dual citizenship has sparked a debate on whether the disqualification of candidates invalidates nomination papers. This briefing note discusses this issue and argues that nomination papers cannot be invalidated on the basis that a candidate is disqualified from being elected to parliament.