The three-member Commission, comprising Mr. Maxwell Parakrama Paranagama (Chairman), Ms. Suranjana Vidyaratne and Ms. Mano Ramanathan, was appointed in August 2013 and has been given the authority to conduct inquiries and investigations into complaints of missing persons, and submit a report to the President.

In July of this year, President Mahinda Rajapaksa broadened the scope of the mandate of the Presidential Commission and appointed a three-member Advisory Council to advise the Commission.

The enhanced mandate of the Commission, issued by Presidential Proclamation, and published under Gazette Notification 1871/18 dated July 15, 2014, seeks to, inter alia, inquire into and report on several matters contained under paragraph 4.359 of the Report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), which the Commission has deemed as requiring further inquiry. The Advisory Council, comprising three eminent international experts, has been entrusted to advise the Commission on its enhanced mandate.(KH/LLRC)