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Civil Registration System
Sri Lanka
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Sri Lanka
Civil Registration System
Civil Registration Offices and Officers
Civil Registration Offices and Officers
Location of Primary Civil Registration offices
At what level of civil division are primary registration offices located?
Unclear
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
To ensure that civil registration services are accessible to public, it is advisable that a primary registration office be maintained in locations that correspond to minor civil divisions of the country (such as municipalities, towns or districts). The jurisdictional boundaries of primary offices can be adjusted on the basis of population size, resource availability, accessibility, literacy rate and simplicity of registration. If civil registration services are available online (and the entire population has access to internet), the location of physical offices becomes less important.
In the three-tiered civil registration system in Sri Lanka, the Registrars of Division are responsible for civil registration at lowest administrative level. The Births and Death Registration Act Section 5, empowers the Minister to establish registration divisions by publication in the Gazette.
Does the law establish or authorize the establishment of secondary civil registration offices under the jurisdiction of the primary civil registration office?
No
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Establishing secondary civil registration offices as sub-units of primary registration offices at locations with high occurrence of vital events, such as in hospitals or other health facilities, is a key contributor to facilitating higher rates of registration. In some countries the law estalishes the secondary registration offices at health facilities rather than providing authority to establish them. The law establishing secondary registration offices or providing a power to establish them should include the process of appointing a responsible registrar, and clearly define boundaries for the registration area.
The Births and Deaths Registration Act does not authorize establishment of secondary registration units.
Law Source
Powers and Responsibilities of local civil registrars
Is the local civil registrar empowered by law to register vital events? If yes, do they have the power to issue certificates of registration?
Yes civil registrar empowered to register vital events and issue certificates
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Legislation should clearly state the duties and powers of local registrars (the civil registrar responsible for the primary registration area), which include recording and registering vital events in compliance with registration laws, and issuing certificates or copies of vital records upon request.
All Registrars of Division in Sri Lanka are required and authorized by law to register births, deaths and stillbirths occurring in their jurisdiction. The Registrar of Division is also authorized to issue a certificate ofregistration for free at the time of registration.
Does the law empower the local civil registrar to make minor corrections and add uncontested information to the civil registration record?
To some extent
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Legislation should authorize the local civil registrar to make minor corrections such as typographical errors in civil registration record, add uncontested information such as uncontested paternity information, and add ommitted information such as amending the name of child within a defined time period.
In cases of birth registrations where the name of the registrant was not specified, or has since been altered, the amendment can only be made on application to District Registrar or Registrar General. The local civil registrar (Registrar of Division) is not empowered to amend or alter the name of registrant under the law. Clerical errors or inadvertent ommissions may be corrected by the Registrar General or any officer authorized by the Registrar General. It is unclear whether the Registrar of Division is explicitly authorized to make these corrections. It appears in practice that this power has in fact been delegated to Registrars of Divisions. However, after a certain point of time, since no records are left with the Registrar, the question of correction of clerical errors, though exercisable by the Registrar in theory, in practice may not be possible, at least after the point of time the records are handed over to the District Registrar Office.
Does the law require the local civil registration office to transmit registration records to the national civil registration authority on a regular and timely basis?
Yes
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
The legislation should set time frames for transfer of information from the local register to the centralized register. The time frames may vary based on policymakers' discretion, depending on whether the system is computerized or non-computerized.
Civil registration under the Births and Deaths Registration Act is envisioned as being paper-based. During registration, the informant registers particulars of birth, death and stillbirth with the Registrar of Division. The Registrar of Division makes three copies of this registration entry, with the third copy being the "Registration Certificate". Under Section 11 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, the Registrars of Division are required to send second copies of registration entries to the District Registrar "at the end of each fixed period in that behalf by the Registrar General". The District Registrar sends these copies to the Registrar General. This "fixed period" is not defined explicitly in the Act itself but in practice is monthly.
Does the law provide the criteria or required qualifications for appointing, designating, or selecting local registrars?
Yes
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
It is important that the law provide clear requirements governing fitness and qualifications of local civil registrars. To prevent corruption, legislation and regulations should provide that registrars be full-time public service officials, with defined terms of employment and salary level.
The Births and Deaths Registration Act mentions grounds for disqualification, and not criteria for qualifications of local registrars (Registrars of Division). A person is disqualified from being a Registrar if they become a member of parliament, provincial council or local authority; or holds any other paid office in the Republic; or is engaged in a profession that would prejudicially affect duties as a Registrar. Circulars set out the criteria of eligibility to become a Registrar of Division, including being a citizen, registered permanent resident in the division, and being no younger than 30 years of age and no older than 50 years of age at the closing of applications.
Does the law authorize the local civil registrar to use mobile registration to reach remote or rural areas?
No
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
For those areas of the country where the population density is too low to justify setting up a permanent registration unit or where the accessibility to an existing registration unit is limited by terrain or distance, consideration should be given to establishing a mobile (by land, sea or air) registration unit. Such a unit would travel to predetermined places according to a fixed and well publicized schedule and remain in each such place long enough to collect and record the required registration data for the vital events that will have occurred since its last visit.
