The use of corporal punishment in Sri Lanka

Hewa Maddumage Karunpala and others v Jayantha Prema Kumara Sriwardhana and others (SC/FR/97/2017)

Abstract

Corporal punishment is widely used in schools around the world, although laws prohibit the use of physical punishment on children. In Sri Lanka, the student is punished physically in the name of discipline, although it is an offence under the national law of Sri Lanka and international conventions that are ratified by Sri Lanka. This case emphasizes a higher degree of protection for children when they have been subjected to physical harm. The national laws have been developed based on this case.