It is well known that the Sri Lanka Penal Code is virtually identical to the Indian Penal Code 1860 (“IPC”). Not long after its enactment, the IPC received high praise for its clear articulation and thinking concerning criminal responsibility. Such lavish praise was entirely warranted given the overly complex, confusing and cumbersome state of English criminal law at the time. However, even the best Codes would be bound to lose much of their attributes if they remained unaltered over such an extended period of time. Metaphorically, as a manufactured article, the IPC has not even been properly serviced, let alone re-modelled, since leaving the codifier’s desk.

As a result, the experience in India and other countries which have adopted the IPC (like Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Myanmar and Singapore) is that the Code struggles to remain the principal repository of the foundational principles of criminal responsibility, having hardly any influence on the development of subsequent penal legislation. Additionally, the Code has created many problems of interpretation for the courts which have had the unenviable task of finding ways, not always successful, of applying the 19th century attitudes and approaches embodied in the Code to social and moral situations in the 20th and 21st centuries. We envisage that these very same problems are occasioned by the Sri Lanka Penal Code.

This project aims to:

• Determine and describe the current state of the criminal law of Sri Lanka concerning the basic general principles under which persons can be justly held to be criminally responsible;
• Study and critically evaluate the major offences against the person and property in Sri Lanka; and,
• Inform and promote debates about improving the Penal Code of Sri Lanka by producing a “General Part” containing a set of general principles of criminal responsibility for inclusion in the Code.

The project will involve two field trips to Sri Lanka and will culminate in the publication of a book by LexisNexis in 2019.