Volume VI

PROHIBITION OF ANTI-PERSONNEL MINES ACT

Arrangement of Sections

1. Short title.

PART I
PRELIMINARY

2. Application of this Act.

3. Offences.

4. Exceptions.

5. Minister may authorise an anti-personnel mine for certain purposes.

6. Supply of information.

7. Misleading statements and documents.

PART II
DESTRUCTION OF AN ANTI-PERSONNEL MINE

8. Anti-personnel mines owned or possessed by the Government.

9. Anti-personnel mines in the State land.

10. Obligation to provide information.

11. Anti-personnel mine in private premises.

12. Offences.

PART III
GENERAL PROVISIONS

13. Warrant.

14. High Court to try offences under this Act.

15. General penalty.

16. Offences committed by body of persons.

17. Forfeiture.

18. Regulations.

19. Assistance to a Country etc..

20. Interpretation.

21. Sinhala text to prevail in case of inconsistency.

3 of 2022.

AN ACT to provide for the implementation of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction; and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

[Date of Commencement: 18th February, 2022]

Preamble

WHEREAS a Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction was concluded by the Diplomatic Conference on an International Total Ban on Anti-Personnel Land Mines at Oslo on September 18, 1997:

WHEREAS the Convention was acceded to on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka on December 13, 2017:

AND WHEREAS it has become necessary for the Government of Sri Lanka to make legislative provision to give effect to
Sri Lanka’s obligations under the aforesaid Convention.

1. Short title.

This Act may be cited as the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines Act.

PART I
PRELIMINARY

2. Application of this Act.

The provisions of this Act shall apply to the acts specified in section 3 done by—

(a) any person within Sri Lanka and on board any ship or aircraft registered in Sri Lanka; or

(b) any citizen of Sri Lanka, outside Sri Lanka.

3. Offences.

(1) Except as provided for in this Act, a person shall not—

(a) receive, use, develop, produce, import, export, sell, expose for sale, purchase, supply, transport, acquire, possess, retain, stockpile or transfer an anti-personnel mine; and

(b) modify or convert an anti-personnel mine into any other form of an explosive.

(2) Any person who acts in contravention of this section commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five hundred thousand rupees or to imprisonment of either description for a term not exceeding ten years or to both such fine and imprisonment.

4. Exceptions.

(1) A member of the armed forces or a police officer may, in the course of his employment or duties, receive, use, develop, produce, transport, acquire, possess, retain, or transfer an anti-personnel mine authorised under section 5 for the purposes of developing, or training persons in, techniques of mine detection, mine clearance, mine deactivation, or mine destruction.

(2) Subject to the provisions of section 11, a member of the armed forces or a police officer may, in the course of his employment or duties, seize, receive, transfer, acquire or retain an anti-personnel mine for the purposes of deactivating or destroying such anti-personnel mine.

5. Minister may authorise an antipersonnel mine for certain purposes.

(1) For the purposes of developing, or training persons in, techniques of mine detection, mine clearance, mine deactivation, or mine destruction, the Minister may from time to time, by notice published in the Gazette authorise the retention or transfer of a number of anti-personnel
mines.

(2) The number of anti-personnel mines authorised under subsection (1) shall not exceed the minimum number absolutely necessary for the above-mentioned purposes.

6. Supply of information.

(1) A member of the armed forces or a police officer who receives, uses, develops, produces, transports, acquires, possesses, retains, or transfers an anti-personnel mine shall—

(a) as soon as practicable, send information on such activities to the Minister in such form and manner, as may be determined by the Minister;

(b) keep records in relation to such anti-personnel
mine and the purpose to which such anti-personnel mine is put;

(c) prepare, from those records, periodic reports relating to such anti-personnel mine in a form determined by the Minister; and

(d) send those periodic reports to the Secretary to the Ministry of the Minister at intervals as may be prescribed.

(2) The Minister may call for special reports from such member of the armed forces or police officer who has sent information to the Minister under paragraph (a) of subsection (1), in the prescribed circumstances.

(3) A member of the armed forces or a police officer who, without reasonable excuse, refuses or fails to comply with subsections (1) and (2) commits an offence.

7. misleading statements and documents.

A member of the armed forces or a police officer who knowingly, in the preparation of any document under section 6 makes a statement or omits any matter which misleads in material particulars in the document commits an offence.

PART II
DESTRUCTION OF AN ANTI-PERSONNEL MINE

8. Anti-personnel mines owned or possessed by the Government.

The Secretary shall ensure the destruction of all the anti-personnel mines owned or possessed by the Government except the number of anti-personnel mines authorised under section 5.

9. Anti-personnel mines in the State land.

(1) The Secretary shall make every effort to identify or cause the identification of areas within the land owned or controlled by the State or government institution where anti-personnel mines are known or suspected to be emplaced.

(2) Upon the identification of areas under subsection (1), the Secretary shall make best endeavours to mark the perimeter and, monitor and protect by fencing or other means to ensure the effective exclusion of public, until all the anti-personnel mines are destroyed.

10. Obligation to provide information.

(1) Where any person finds an anti-personnel mine, such person shall inform a member of the armed forces or a police officer immediately.

(2) The person referred to in subsection (1) shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that the anti-personnel mine will not be exploded before a member of the armed forces or police officer arrives at the relevant premises.

11. Anti-personnel mine in private premises.

(1) Where a member of the armed forces or police officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that an anti-personnel mine is on any private premises, such officer may—

(a) with the consent of the person in charge of the premises, enter and search such premises at all reasonable
times;

(b) make such anti-personnel mine safe from being an immediate danger;

(c) affix a warning relating to the anti-personnel mine in a conspicuous position to a thing or place near such
anti-personnel mine;

(d) take into custody any article or document in relation to the anti-personnel mine found or suspected to be in such premises;

(e) seize, remove and detain any anti-personnel mine, if it is reasonably practicable to do so;

(f) question any person occupying such premises; or

(g) do any act or thing necessary or convenient to be done to carry out an investigation into the anti-personnel mine found or suspected to be in such premises.

(2) The duties referred to in subsection (1) shall be performed by the member of the armed forces or police officer in accordance with such manner and procedures as may be prescribed.

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