What the proposed Community Corrections Bill means for non-custodial sentences

Sri Lanka’s government has introduced legislative amendments to reform the country's non-custodial sentencing framework by tightening offender supervision and increasing financial penalties.

The Community Based Corrections Amendment Bill was published in an official Gazette supplement on 13 October 2026 by the Minister of Justice and National Integration.

The proposed legislation seeks to modernize the original 1999 law to enhance community service procedures and ensure stricter compliance across the judicial system.
Revised Penalties and Mandatory Supervision

Under the new provisions, judges will refer eligible candidates to a designated community corrections officer, who must outline the conditions of non-custodial rehabilitation before the offender agrees to participate.

Accused individuals will receive a continuous window of 48 hours to formally submit their consent to the court, excluding weekends and public holidays.

The bill significantly increases non-compliance penalties, raising the maximum statutory fine from 5,000 rupees to 25,000 rupees under Section 14 of the original statute.

In addition, a structured schedule maps unpaid community labor directly to the severity of court sentences.

Offenders facing prison terms of one year or more can be ordered to complete between 200 and 300 hours of community work over twelve months.

Sentences ranging from six months to a year carry 100 to 200 hours of unpaid work over a six-month duration, while terms under six months involve 50 to 100 hours within three months.

Financial penalties are scaled similarly, with maximum fines of 50,000 rupees requiring up to 300 hours of community service spread over two years, whereas fines under 20,000 rupees require 50 to 75 hours over three months.

Newly appointed corrections officers will oversee these community work assignments, conduct background investigations, and report directly to local judicial authorities.