Sri Lanka has rejected a US grant of US$ 3.5 million aimed at judicial reform stating that the grant's conditions would impact on Sri Lanka's sovereignty.
Speaking to the New Indian Express on Wednesday, Sri Lanka's Justice Minister, Rauff Hakeem said:
“The grant’s conditionalities were incompatible with our status as a sovereign country,”
When asked to detail the conditionalities, Hakeem is reported to have replied:
“I cannot go beyond this.”
According to Sri Lanka's Daily Mirror however, the disagreement centred on who should be the chair of the Advisory Committee. Sri Lanka allegedly put forward Mohan Peiris as current Chief Justice, whilst the US objected, stating that it did not the new appointment.
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