Judges from the Magistrates’ and District Courts attended a workshop on ‘A Rights-Based Approach to Judicial Decision-Making in Times of Crisis’ in Dambulla, Sri Lanka, from October 10 – 12, 2025.
Held in partnership with the Sri Lanka Judges’ Institute, the workshop focused on the jurisdiction of the Magistrate’s and District Courts, the courts of first instance for most criminal and civil matters in Sri Lanka. The participants predominantly comprised judges from the northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka.
In this workshop, experts and participants explored the relevance of a rights-based approach to these courts and the possibility of applying such an approach in their work. Drawing from international human rights, common law rights and values, and statutory rights, such an approach strives to advance the litigants’ best interests and rights.
Sessions were led by local experts and Foundation Research Fellows. Justice Pradeep Hettiarachchi, Judge of the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka, presented a session on the link between the criminal law and procedure and the fundamental rights associated with liberty and the presumption of innocence. Dr Deepika Udagama, Chair Professor of Law (Retd.) of the Department of Law, University of Peradeniya, explored the relevance of fundamental and human rights to the different criminal and civil jurisdictions of the Magistrates’ and District Courts.
Foundation Research Fellows delivered sessions on the concept of crisis and judges’ roles and responsibilities in times of crisis, the principled and jurisdictional justification for using a rights-based approach in the trial courts, and the techniques of applying a rights-based approach to judicial reasoning. The workshop emphasised practical exercises and group discussion, which saw active engagement and participation by the judges.
The workshop also featured a panel discussion, which facilitated exchange and experience-sharing between sitting judges of trial courts on challenges faced in times of crisis and the possibility of applying a rights-based approach in their work. The panel comprised Justice Pradeep Hettiarachchi and Dr Deepika Udagama.
This was the third and final workshop for judges in Sri Lanka under the German Federal Foreign Office-funded project ‘Consolidating the Rule of Law in Sri Lanka: Strengthening the Resilience of Democratic Institutions to Promote Stability in the Face of Crises.’