The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) will be given an opportunity to discuss its concerns over the Government’s proposed judicial reforms with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in the near future, Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara said, adding that he had already conveyed the Association’s request to both the Presidential Secretariat and the President.
Speaking to the media after meeting Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith yesterday (6), he said: “We received a request from them. I forwarded it to the Presidential Secretariat and informed the President. They will be given an opportunity to meet him in the near future.”
Commenting on the BASL’s opposition to the proposed reforms, he said he could not understand why the Association maintained that the changes would undermine judicial independence.
“They say that it will harm the independence of the Judiciary. But although that is the official position of the Association, lawyers across the country support these reforms. That is nothing new. On any piece of legislation, there are always lawyers who hold views different from the BASL’s official position. There is never a single unanimous view,” he said.
Referring to his meeting with the Archbishop, Nanayakkara said he had explained the broader package of judicial reforms being implemented to improve the efficiency of the court system, as there had been misinformation surrounding the proposed legislation.
“There has been misinformation, for instance, suggesting that retirement age changes are only about Judges of the Superior Courts. We came here to explain the full picture,” he said.
He added that Cardinal Ranjith welcomed efforts aimed at improving the efficiency of the Judiciary and stressed that any reforms should ultimately serve the public interest.
“His view was that whatever is done should be for the good of the country, that the courts should function more efficiently, and that decisions should always be taken with the interests of the people in mind,” he said.
Nanayakkara said the Government is pursuing several other measures to strengthen the administration of justice, including increasing the number of courts, recruiting more judges, digitising court processes and filling essential staff vacancies.
Meanwhile, the Lawyers for Democracy organisation convened a meeting yesterday to express its opposition to the proposed constitutional amendment seeking to extend the tenure of judges.
Speaking at the meeting, attorney Lakshan Dias, a member of the group, said that any such constitutional amendment required consultation with stakeholders. He noted that lawyers represented a major concerned party in the proposed amendment, yet no such consultation had taken place.
The group also rejected the recurring claim that lawyers oppose the tenure extension because they wish to prevent the rapid clearance of pending court cases, which could allegedly result in a loss of benefits.
Dias explained that lawyers were coming forward because judges, who are among the parties most affected by the amendment, cannot publicly voice their opposition. He further emphasised that the issue affected the rule of law and maintained that the Executive and the Judiciary must remain separate entities.
Addressing the same gathering, attorney Asthika Dewendra commented on Nanayakkara’s statement regarding the filling of eight vacancies in the Superior Courts.
Nanayakkara had allegedly stated last week that if the remaining eight vacancies in the Superior Courts were filled first, eight Magistrate’s Courts would have to be closed down. Dewendra argued that this contradicted itself, pointing out that it highlighted that the issue lay within the lower courts.
The gathering called for a transparent process for any amendments affecting the courts, stating that such changes directly impact the rule of law and judicial independence.
PHOTO Venura Chandramalitha