• Citizens express their thoughts on the state of justice in the country and the role played by law enforcement, judicial authorities, and the media

BY Sumudu Chamara  “Justice should not only be done, but should also be seen to be done,” is an oft quoted phrase by former Chief Justice of England and Wales Gordon Hewart from the case of R vs. Sussex Justices, ex parte McCarthy.  During the past few years, there were a number of occasions on which Sri Lankans too questioned the existence of justice that governments and law enforcement authorities promised to deliver, and there were incidents that attracted national-level criticism as far as justice is concerned. Among those incidents were the granting of presidential pardons to various persons, police action or inaction, and also the Judiciary’s action or inaction. In some cases, the people questioned the outcomes of years or decades-long cases, while in others, the manner in which the Police deals with the public has been seen as unjust.  While what justice means to each person varies depending on a plethora of factors, there is a question as to whether constitutionally guaranteed equal treatment before the law is adequate to ensure justice.  To understand this situation and the people’s idea and expectation of justice, The Morning spoke to several members of the public. The right discussion  Retired private sector employee Amith Chandranath said that Sri Lankans have seen injustices so many times that they have forgotten what justice is.  “Where in Sri Lanka can you see justice? From the most powerful people to the poorest people in the society, there are corrupt people who would not think twice to harm another for personal benefits,” he opined.  He added that although it is important to talk about whether the law enforcement or the Judiciary serves what the people can call true justice, it is merely one part of this discussion, and injustice at all other levels of the society should not be overlooked or downplayed. Those, according to him, cause a much greater harm to the society than the alleged injustices in law enforcement or the Judiciary.  He elaborated: “When a court gives a verdict the people do not like, we question, challenge, and criticise it, and some even go to great extents as to fight such decisions within the legal framework. It is true that such cases cause much controversy, and perhaps that is why activists connected with non-governmental organisations (NGO) and Opposition politicians, especially, like to keep talking about such for months. But, we do not talk about injustices, or the lack of justice, in other places in the society.  “How many people get the correct change when they travel in a bus? How many people get the right amount of groceries when they buy unpackaged goods? How many people are treated with respect in public institutions that depend on the people’s tax money? How many patients are given appointments at a certain time when the hospital staff knows that the doctor is not going to be there at the given time? How many people can question the conduct of a politician they sent to Parliament to represent their interests?” He added that when these issues keep affecting a larger number of people for a prolonged period of time, focusing on injustices at the higher levels of society that affect only a few people is not the most immediate injustice that needs to be addressed. He also questioned the media’s responsibility: “Media institutions keep showing injustices that happen in the higher levels of society or law enforcement as that is what the majority of the people like to see and because it increases their popularity. They do not adequately show the injustices that happen in day to day life, in homes and on the streets. The result is, seeing too many big injustices have made people forget about the relatively small injustices that happen to them every day. It is by laughing at or criticising big injustices that the normal people forget the injustices they go through in their everyday life. This culture has to change.”  Talking about justice  However, notably, several persons The Morning spoke to refused to state their names or talk about their opinions about justice in detail, saying that talking about injustices taking place in Sri Lanka is risky and pointless. “We have seen what happens to those talking about injustices. Even powerful people such as politicians have been placed behind bars because they wanted to talk about the ills of the society, the Judiciary, and politics, and stop the injustices from happening to the people. We do not have half the protection they have and therefore, there will be no one to protect us if something happens to us,” one person said. Another person who refused to discuss the matter said that talking about justice is a waste of time. He was of the opinion that it is not necessary to write about the public’s opinion about the concept of justice in a newspaper, because both the public as well as those who have power to change the status quo are both well aware of the state of justice in Sri Lanka. The only difference, he said, is that the public do not have the power to change the situation although they want to, while those who have the power to do that have no intention to change the situation. People’s power  Entrepreneur R.L.K. Witharana pointed out that the people should analyse the justice they receive, and question the motives behind it.  He added: “We all know that there is no place to get proper justice, and the justice we are given most of the time is either incomplete, flawed, or motivated by interests other than the betterment of the country. Justice should not be a by-product of someone’s predetermined, unlawful freedom or punishment, and the people should know and question the difference. It will take a long time for this situation to change. Although we often say that laws, policies, and politicians need to be changed, we conveniently forget the fact that it is our attitudinal changes and actions that finally make these changes happen. However, unfortunately, although that is how it is supposed to happen, the people’s ability to change things that affect a just society is challenged in the current political context.  “For example, when the people reject a politician because he is not suitable to serve the public or be a public representative, political parties can keep them as National List parliamentarians, and we have seen plenty of such incidents. Another good example is some offenders who get convicted by the court, which is bound to serve the public, receive presidential pardons, which raises a question about justice in the country. Is this the fate of the people’s power and justice?”  Witharana further added: “One of my main concerns is whether we, the normal people, would ever receive an opportunity to have our say in this regard. If the people are the superior power in a democratic nation, no other power should be able to suppress our power and our opinion.” Injustices that require immediate attention  Meanwhile, former businessman Samantha Amarasinghe, said that while matters such as justice, democracy, and equality, are concerns that should not be underestimated, they are not matters that require urgent action but gradual, well-informed action as they involve a great deal of attitudinal changes. He opined that Sri Lanka’s priority at the moment should be ensuring that every family has adequate goods for their next meal. He added: “I am not saying that justice is not important. But, the type of justice we talk about is not going to fill people’s bellies or happen overnight. Even to discuss these matters, the people need to live first, don’t they? Even the Buddha has refused to preach to a hungry person. If we really want to discuss justice or injustice, we must acknowledge that what is happening to the people every day is the biggest injustice we have seen. The people elected politicians and maintain most of the public sector. But do the people receive proper services, at the very least, essential food items? That is injustice.  “A large number of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders exploded and people died and got injured. Was anyone punished? No. That is injustice. A massive black market has been created and it has worsened the actual nature of the food crisis. But nothing seems to be happening to manage this situation instead of importing goods to fight the domestic mafia, and that too is a massive injustice.”  He opined that Sri Lanka should talk about the said injustices first, adding that otherwise, there will not be anyone left to talk about the justice served by the law enforcement sector or by the Judiciary.  He further added: “When it comes to justice in those two sectors, I really think that it depends on the persons who handle a matter and also the available legal provisions. In my lifetime, I have seen court decisions that I think are fair, and at the same time, I have seen court decisions that are extremely questionable. I do not think that we can just label these fields as being just or unjust.”  Humane enforcement of the law  In response to The Morning’s question as to what the people think is justice, one person, who did not want to mention his name, said that the people simply want the law to be implemented in a humane manner. He pointed out several incidents where people faced legal action due to stealing a mango or a coconut (in unrelated incidents), and opined that even though enforcing the law is fair, when looking at the circumstances under which they committed the offence, what happened to them is unfair.  “We have people to make and enforce laws because the law itself cannot interpret or enforce itself. In this process, we have a moral obligation to add a little bit of humanity without blindly doing what the law books say,” he further observed.  He added: “This is the most difficult part of this issue. We cannot instil humanity into a person’s mind and we cannot clearly define what justice is. What the law can do is treat everyone equally. But, in a context where things do not always happen in equal or fair situations and people do not get to live in such situations, I do not think that we can replace the need for justice with mere equal treatment. Therefore, it is extremely important that a sense of fairness and justice come from within those who make and enforce laws.” While the legal and law enforcement sectors are under no obligation to do what each person in the society wants, they are however bound to ensure that their actions actually protect the people’s rights and are aimed at the people’s interests.  Justice is an abstract we try to achieve through the law. When the people do not see the enforcement of the law completely or satisfactorily serving justice, that is a serious situation, and can erode the people’s faith in the legal and law enforcement systems.