Address by Justice and Law Reforms Minister Milinda Moragoda, at the 48th Annual Session of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization at Putrajaya, Malaysia on the August 18.

The Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization, which emerged from its origins as a “Committee” of legal experts always had its roots in the reality of international politics. For well over half a century, it has provided an increasing membership with both information and analysis of important legal issues confronting Asian and African States. The Secretary-General and Staff of this institution, from its inception under the guidance of B. Sen, have performed admirably the complex task of advising the great majority of its membership that are developing countries, while taking due account of the fact that some of its members are among the more economically advanced, and others are gradually emerging to claim that distinction.

When the Convention was negotiated between 1973 and 1982, piracy was no longer considered a serious threat, and so was provided for in the very traditional terms of the High Seas Convention of 1958, as an offence that was, in essence, robbery with violence taking place in the open sea. When those provisions were first written, the “open sea” began just three miles from the coast. But then the 1982 Convention gave every coastal State forms of jurisdiction over vast areas of what had been formerly “the open sea”. The result was, first, that the “open sea” in which all States had been traditionally entitled to act against pirates, came to be limited; and second, that pirates could seek sanctuary by simply crossing a maritime boundary into the jurisdiction of any State other than that of the pursuing vessel, causing the latter to move cautiously, and less effectively in pursuit.

Sri Lanka will endeavour to contribute to the discussion of ways and means of securing the co-operation necessary to facilitate the apprehension and punishment of pirates, and keep our vital sea lanes free of the modern threat of maritime terrorism. Sri Lanka, and other developing countries in our region moreover provide the crews of ships now at risk from these new forms of terrorism, and need to equip themselves with both the necessary legislation and defensive capability for that purpose.


My Government is currently engaged in organizing an international seminar on the subject of maritime terrorism. Having noted the plans of our Secretary-General for new initiatives to develop this Organization’s advisory and co-ordinating role, my Government would be ready to assist him in that important endeavour.


The Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization has, since its inception, devoted its energies to the study of issues of international law, and typically to those issues under study by the International Law Commission. Before concluding my statement, I would like to invite your attention to an important set of legal issues that has been under study by an independent commission established under the auspices of the United Nations.


I would like to propose that our Organization request its Secretariat to examine and advise us concerning a somewhat different set of legal issues that must surely be of importance to us all.


I refer to the issues dealt with in the Report of the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor. That Commission, co-chaired by Madeleine Albright, and by the Peruvian economist, Hernando De Soto who pioneered the work, focused for the first time on the links between social exclusion, poverty and the law.


The Report, published last year, tries to demonstrate how the law can be made to work for everyone in society. Having had the honour of participating as a member of the Commission, and convinced of the relevance of its work to all our Member States, I recommend the Report for study by our Organization.