Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2022-03-21

Agreement for the Transfer of Sentenced Persons between the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Italian Republic

- The Transfer of Offenders Act, No.5 of 1995 contains provisions to enable a citizen of another specified country convicted and sentenced to imprisonment by a court in Sri Lanka to serve his/her sentence in the country of which he claims to be a citizen. Similarly, the said Act contains also the provisions to enable a Sri Lankan citizen who is imprisoned in another country to be transferred back to Sri Lanka to serve his/her balance period of imprisonment. In order to act accordingly, it is essential that an agreement be reached between Sri Lanka and the respective country to exchange the sentenced persons between two parties. Accordingly, the proposal made by the Minister of Justice to sign an agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Government of Italy for the transfer and receipt of sentenced persons, was approved by the Cabinet.