The European Court of Human Rights gives its judgement in the case of NA v. United Kingdom: the expulsion of the applicant to Colombo would constitute a violation of Article 3, the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment, of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the Court's view, both the assessment of the risk to Tamils of certain profiles and the assessment of whether individual acts of harassment cumulatively amounted to a serious violation of human rights could only be done on an individual basis.
Timeline of events under "Court petitions/decisions" issue
In response to the fundamental rights application filed in connection with the mass scale eviction of Tamils from Colombo that took place on the 7 June 2007, the Supreme Court orders that future evictions should not take place unless in accordance with the law and with a judicial order.
The Supreme Court dismisses a petition seeking postponement of elections to the local bodies in Batticaloa.
The Sri Lankan police expel more than 400 Tamils from Colombo to the North, arguing that the order is part of security controls. The raids are condemned internationally. The Supreme Court later orders the expulsions to stop following a human rights petition.
The Supreme Court declares unlawful the 1987 merger of the Northern and Eastern provinces to form a single Tamil dominated North Eastern Province under the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord.
The Supreme Court delivers its judgement in connection with the the revision/review application filed by Nallaratnam Singarasa, dismissing it on the grounds that it was misconceived and without legal basis.
Following the legal challenge by the JVP, the Supreme Court orders that implementation of certain clauses of the PTOMS agreement should be suspended until a final court determination, stopping short of declaring the agreement illegal.
The UN Human Rights Committee gives its views in the case of Singarasa v Sri Lanka and finds that there had been a violation of Nallaratnam Singarasa's rights.
27 prisoners, some former child soldiers of the LTTE who had surrendered to the authorities, are killed and another eighteen injured when an estimated 3,000 strong mob attacked the National Youth Services Council rehabilitation camp in Bindunuwewa, Bandarawela.
In the first criminal prosecution of its type, the Colombo High Court sentenced to death six soldiers and a reserve policeman found guilty of the September 1996 murders of Jaffna schoolgirl Krishanthy Kumarasamy and her mother, teenage brother and neighbour.
The Privy Council rules in favour of Kodeeswaran in the case of Kodeeswaran vs Attorney General. The Privy Council directs the Supreme Court to address the constitutional question of whether the Official Language Act of 1956 which made Sinhala the official language was in violation of Section 29 of the constitution, which prohibits discrimination.
A coup d'etat by armed forces against the government fails. Those accused of masterminding the coup are finally acquitted on appeal to the Privy Council.
