Coming soon.....

Despite the success achieved by the international community regarding the promotion of international human rights norms and standards in countries other than developed democracies, it would be an illusion to believe that these principles are actually applied in daily life.

In their pursuit of justice, Sri Lankans will learn the difficulties they face come from their dysfunctional criminal justice system. Building a narrative on these difficulties is therefore an essential component of seeking redress for rights violations. These narratives describe not only the difficulties and suffering faced by individuals, but also the nature of various public institutions and the problems within them. This book makes an attempt to understand the obstacles to the realization of human rights norms in Sri Lanka, relating to the constitution, criminal justice system or local traditions. The ideas discussed in the book are the result of practical interventions by way of litigation, providing assistance to victims, and through debates conducted on these issues over a considerable time. Published in 2010, ISBN 978-962-8314-48-5

• Human rights development outside liberal democracies
• Asia: Institutional reforms regarding justice administration must be given primacy to protect human rights in non-rule of law countries
• Abysmal lawlessness and the zero status of citizens
• Militarization and human rights in South Asia
• A discussion on Sri Lanka's 1978 Constitution and impunity
• Writing the narratives of justice -- The case of Gerard Perera
• Litigation aimed at improving criminal justice
• Sri Lanka: A murder tolerating nation
• Sri Lankan politics, from primary school to kindergarten
• Policing in the north and the east
• Police reform prerequisite for return to peace
• Setbacks in criminal justice due to Sri Lanka's political conflicts
• Elimination of corruption and the creating of conditions for transparency, integrity and accountability

Failing Judicial Systems, Torture and Human Rights Work in Sri Lanka

A Study of Police Torture in Sri Lankapublished jointly by Morten Koch Andersen and Basil Fernando | The Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims (RCT) (Denmark)and the Asian Human Rights Commission (Hong Kong) Published in 2009, ISBN 978-962-8314-47-8

• Foreword
• Introduction
• 1. What is and What is Not of Human Rights in Sri Lanka
• 2. Politics and Governance
• 3. Impairments & Dysfunctionalities
• 4. Here for All - Accessible for None
• 5. The Phantom Limb
• 6. Conclusion
• Annex A: Report of the Police Commission 1946
• Annex B: Report of the Police Commission 1970
• Annex C: Report of the Committee appointed 1995

 Studies the introduction and development of Vatican II teachings in Sri Lanka and the division of the Catholic Church that has occurred as a result. It deals with the work of Bishop Leo Nanayakkara, Fr. Michael Rodrigo and Fr. Tissa Balasuriya and compares their thinking with the teachings now promoted by a few bishops in the country, particularly Bishop Malcolm Ranjith, who categorically states the "He [Jesus] was not bothered about social oppression, injustice and the like [that were] strongly visible in His own times."

The book further studies religious power from the point of view of human rights and democracy.

Published in May, 1997, by the Asian Human Rights Commission, 142 pages, ISBN - 962-8161-04-0

• Foreword
• Introduction (A Man Faces Fundamentalism)
• Chapter 1 (The Background to the Excommunication of Fr. Tissa Balasuriya)
• Chapter 2 (Sri Lanka�s Spirituality of Solidarity under Attack)
• Chapter 3 (The Spirituality of Divisiveness)
• Chapter 4 (The Law of Manu, Socialist Law, Sharia Law and Canon Law)
• Chapter 5 (Andrei Vyshinsky and Cardinal Ratzinger:Similarities in Style?)
• Chapter 6 (The Insane Campaign That Failed)
• Chapter 7 (The Heart of the Matter - Document M - and the Role of Bishop Malcolm Ranjith)
• Chapter 8 (Responding to The Other Side)
• Chapter 9 (Did the Pope Read Mary and Human Liberation?)
• Chapter 10 (Baptizing Discrimination: The Church and the Poorest of the Fisherfolk)
• Appendix 1 (An Excommunication without a Trial)
• Appendix 2 (The Media Is the Messenger)
• Appendix 3 (In-Communioned)
• Appendix 5 (On the Prohibition of Books)
• Epilogue (Themes for Healing)

J. Basil Fernando
Asia Monitor Resource Center, Hong Kong 1991
This book is dedicated
to all those who have struggled
to create the awareness that accountability
for the life of every citizen
is the foundation of any decent society

Published in 1991 by Asia Monitor Resource Centre Ltd., 101 pages, ISBN 962-7145-13-X, ISSN 0258-0268

• SRI LANKA - MULITARIZATION vs. MODERNIZATION
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• 1. Militarization
• 2. Trade unions
• 3. From consensus to repression
• 4. The JVP and the future
• 5. The IPKF and thereafter
• 6. UNP revival and trade unions
• 7. The emergency and the workers' movement
• Appendix 1: The Amnesty letters
• Appendix 2: Elections in Pakistan and the military's involvement in politics
• Appendix 3: The disappearances and the Commission
• Appendix 4: Hartal!
• Epilogue
• References

This new book which is published in July 1998, examines the nature of the Cambodian legal system. Problems Facing the Cambodian Legal System, by Basil Fernando, 157 pages, argues that the socialist system of justice still exists in Cambodia despite many attempts to reform. The book includes a foreword by Justice Michael Kirby, former Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Human Rights in Cambodia, and a message from Dato' Param Cumaraswamy, U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers.  Published in July 1998 by the Asian Human Rights Commission, 160 pages, ISBN - 962-8314-03-3

• Seminar on Cambodian Judiciary: The Statement and Recommendations of the Participants
• Seminar on Cambodian Judiciary: Proceedings of the Seminar: INDEPENDENCE OF JUDICIARY
• Part 1: Seminar on Cambodian Judiciary: Proceedings of the Seminar: THE SUPREME COURT IN A LIBERAL DEMOCRACY
• THE ORIGIN OF THE PRESENT POLITICAL, SOCIAL AND LEGAL SYSTEM OF CAMBODIA AS A REVOLUTIONARY RUPTURE WITH THE PAST
• UNDERSTANDING CAMBODIA AS A POST-REVOLUTIONARY SOCIETY
• THE SYSTEM OF TRIAL UNDER THE VIETNAMESE - KHMER MODEL (1981-1993)
• THE CENTRAL PLACE OF CONFESSION AT TRIALS UNDER SOCIALIST SYSTEM
• CONFESSION AS A TECHNIQUE OF PROOF IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS
• A Controversy On The Nature Of The System Of Trials In Cambodia: JUSTICE IS NOT A WILD H0RSE - IT MUST BE CONTROLLED
• CAMBODIA - THE COURTS AND THE CONSTITUTION: A POINT OF VIEW
• APPENDIX 1: SEMINAR ON ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE - COORDINATION BETWEEN THE COURTS AND THE POLICE
• APPENDIX 2: REPORT OF THE CIJL SEMINAR ON JUDICIAL FUNCTIONS AND INDEPENDENCE IN CAMBODIA
• UNITED NATIONS PROSECUTIONS IN CAMBODIA
• A Message
• Introduction
• Foreword
• Publisher Information
• Abbreviations

CREATING THE SOCIAL FOUNDATION FOR SUSTAINING DEMOCRACY A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE IDEAS OF N. F. S. GRUNDTVIG (1783 -1872) DENMARK and B. R. AMBEDKAR (1881-1956) INDIA

by W. J. Basil Fernando Published in August 2000 by the Asian Human Rights Commission, 133 pages, ISBN - 962-8314-08-4

• Foreword
• Chapter One: The Theme: Demoralization and Hope
• Chapter Two: The Basic Similarities Between the Ideas of Grundtvig and Ambedkar
• Chapter Three: A Seeming Difference
• Chapter Four: The Caste Notion and the Nation
• Chapter Five: Living Dialogue Beyond Party Politics
• Chapter Six: The Indian Renaissance
• Chapter Seven: Social Demoralization
• Chapter Eight: Hope and the Spirit of the Nation
• Chapter Nine: The Inner Balance
• Chapter Ten: Shudras- Untouchables- Dalits
• Chapter Eleven: The Intellectuals and Social Equality
• An Afterword