It is reported that the Minister of Judicial Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reform Dr. Wijayadasa Rajapaksa has issued a gazette announcement that Probation Officers will become Justices of the Peace ex officio.
It is stated that thus the legal provisions are given to the probation officers to appoint justices of the peace in order to avoid difficulties in taking oaths required in legal proceedings for the children who become victims.
Accordingly, the gazette notice states that every probation officer in the permanent and active service of the Department of Probation and Child Care Services must be a Justice of the Peace for the administrative district of the respective province in which the officer has been appointed.
This move by the Minister is according to a request made by the Parliamentary Forum for Children
This request has been made to the Minister after a long discussion on this matter at the Parliamentary Forum for Children held under the chairmanship of Mrs. Rohini Kumari Wijeratne.
It is also reported that the Commissioner of Probation and Child Protection Services and the Provincial Commissioners also participated in this discussion.