7. Insertion of new section 358A in the principal enactment

Official English translation. Where it differs from the Sinhala or Tamil text, the Act itself says which text prevails.

The following new section is hereby inserted immediately after section 358 of the principal enactment and shall have effect as section 358A of that enactment :—

358A. (1) Any person who—

(a)

subjects or causes any person to be subjected to debt bondage or serfdom ;

(b)

subjects or causes any person to be subjected to forced or compulsory labour ;

(c)

subjects or causes any person to be subjected to slavery ; or

(d)

engages or recruits a child for use in armed conflict, shall be guilty of an offence.

“Debt bondage, serfdom, forced or compulsory labour, slavery and recruitment of children for use in armed conflict.

(2)

Any person who is guilty of an offence under paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of subsection (1), shall on conviction be liable to imprisonment of either description for a term not exceeding twenty years and to a fine. Where the offence is committed under paragraphs (a), (b) or (c) of subsection (1) in relation to a child or where the offence is committed under paragraph (d)

of subsection (1), be liable to imprisonment of either description for a term not exceeding thirty years and to a fine.

(3)

In this section—

“debt bondage” means the status or condition of a debtor arising from a pledge by the debtor of his personal services or of those of a person under his control as security for a debt, if the value of those services as reasonably assessed is not set - off against the debt and the length and nature of those services are undefined;

“forced or compulsory labour” means all work or service which is exacted from a person under the threat of any penalty and for which such person has not offered himself voluntarily, except—

(a)

any work or service exacted by virtue of any law for the time being relating to compulsory military service in relation to work or service of a purely military character ;

(b)

any work or service which forms part of the normal civic obligations of the citizens of a fully self-governing country;

(c)

any work or service exacted from any person as a punishment imposed by a court of law, provided that the said work or service is carried out under the supervision and control of a public authority and that the said person is not hired to be or placed, at the disposal of private individuals, companies or associations;

(d)

any work or service exacted in cases of emergency, that is to say, in the event of war or of a calamity or threatened calamity, such as fire, flood, famine, earthquake, violent epidemic of epizootic diseases, invasion by animal, insect or vegetable pests, and in general any circumstance that would endanger the existence or the well-being of the whole or part of the population;

(e)

minor services of a kind which, being performed by the members of the community in the direct interests of the said community, and thereby considered as normal civic obligations incumbent upon the members of the community, provided that the members of the community or their direct representatives shall have the right to be consulted in regard to the need for such services;

“serfdom” means the condition or status of a tenant who is by law, custom or agreement bound to live and labour on land belonging to another person and to render some determinate service to such other person whether for reward or not and is not free to change his status ;

“slavery” means the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised; and

“child” means a person under eighteen years of age.”.

Read on from s 8