Neither Restraint nor Remedy : the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka is a critical assessment of the national institution for the promotion and protection of human rights as it completes fifteen years of operation. The first part of this book consists of four case-studies on the independence and effectiveness of the Commission between 2008 and 2012; plus a submission to an international review of its accreditation status. The second part assembles relevant documents, including the enabling legislation; the fundamental rights chapter of the Sri Lankan Constitution; the Paris Principles; the General Observations of the ICC-SCA; the UN Human Rights Defenders Declaration; important resolutions of regional networks of national human rights institutions; and statements of international best practice, as aids to the interpretaion and application of the mandate of Sri Lanka's national human rights institution.