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Disclaimer / Limitations
This country’s legal measures were reviewed by our legal staff in consultation with in-country lawyers and/or CRVS legal experts. All efforts were made to ensure the accuracy of the legal analysis, however, if you consider there to be any discrepancies or if there have been changes in the law of the country since our staff last updated the legal analysis, we welcome any additional information or insights. Please contact us via this form.
Civil Registration System
Sri Lanka
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Sri Lanka
Civil Registration System
Coordination, Monitoring and Evaluation, Technology
Coordination, Monitoring and Evaluation, Technology
Data Sharing
Does the law require that the civil registration authority share data with the agency responsible for producing vital statistics, on a regular and timely basis?
Yes
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Legislation on civil registration systems should provide a clear designation of the power and function of a civil registration system to provide reliable and timely information and data on vital events, to other government agencies, including the national statistics agency or agency responsbile for producing vital statistics.
The Statistics Ordinance establishes the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS), which is responsible for preparation of statistics. While the Ordinance does not expressly mention vital statitics, it empowers the DCS to require any person to provide requested information. It also empowers the DCS to work cooperatively with other other government entities.
Does the law block the use of technology, such as electronic collection, transmission and storage of data, within the civil registration system?
No
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
To accommodate emerging technology, legislation needs to be flexible with the method and mode of collection, transmission and storage of data in any civil registration system. For instance, the legislation should not specify the technology and media used in recording, storing, updating and transmitting the information in the civil registration system, or the technological format produced from the information recorded. While implementing regulations may specify procedures, the specific technology to be used should be determined internally by the agency or authority, to allow for changing technology over time.
The Births and Deaths Registration Act is silent on computerized civil registration. Section 15 of the BDRA generally require the informant to appear in person before the registrar to apply for vital event registration, and to sign the register if requested. There is a provision for applying via mail if it is not possible to attend in person, however there are fees attached to this process and the registrar can require the person to come to the office in person within 7 days. These provisions hinder the implementation of technology. In practice, registration occurs manually in divisions. The registration records are sent to the District Registrar who uploads these entries to a computerized system.
Is there a national coordinating committee to address issues on the functioning of the civil registration system and its integration with other systems, such as the health sector, vital statisitcs, national identity system, medicolegal death investigation, and others?
Yes
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
To achieve interoperability amongst various government agencies that govern civil registration, vital statistics compilation and identity management, a stakeholder coordination mechanism should be established. This coordination mechanism can take the form of an inter-agency civil registration, vital statistics and identity management committee, with representatives from each of the stakeholder agencies. Alternatively, a stakeholder coordination mechanism can be a single government agency empowered to coordinate the activities of civil registration, vital statistics and identity management stakeholders and oblige stakeholders to collaborate with the coordinating entity.
Sri Lanka established a CRVS Steering Committee comprised of various officials from the Ministry of Health, Registrar General's Department, Department of Census and Statistics, and the Ministry of Justice. The objective of this Steering Committee is to create a more robust and effective civil registration and vital statistics system.
