Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision to bar foreign judges from participating in an accountability mechanism is “final”, according to a government minister who went on to dismiss concerns raised by Tamil politicians.

Colombo Gazette reports minister Mahinda Samarasinghe as saying “the President has made clear foreign judges will not be invited to be part of the domestic accountability process”.

Mr Samarasinghe, who represented the previous Sri Lankan government in Geneva as the president’s special envoy on human rights, reportedly went on to add, “when the President takes a stand and the Prime Minister also expresses a similar view that is the final decision and the matter is closed”.

Speaking to The Island, Mr Samarasinghe went on to state that conditions for the inclusion of international judges by TNA MP MA Sumanthiran "shouldn’t be taken seriously against the backdrop of both President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe ruling out the participation of foreign judges".

He went on to claim that TNA leader R. Sampanthan had said that "there was no requirement for foreign judges".

Mr Sirisena has been vehement in his rejection of foreign judges, even more so in recent days since the closing of a session of the United Nations Human Rights Council session last month.

Last week he said he would not allow any interference by foreign judges, as reported by his official media organ, PMD News, before going on to slam sections of the Sinhala press for reporting that the accountability mechanism would include foreign participation.