• Sajith says BASL agreed to brief MPs on 22A and judicial vacancies
• Bimal says only House Business Committee can approve such a programme
• BASL has not confirmed whether it will visit Parliament today

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa’s proposal to have all 225 MPs briefed by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) on the proposed 22nd Amendment to the Constitution Bill and the unfilled vacancies in the Supreme Court (SC) and Court of Appeal (CA) triggered a dispute in Parliament yesterday (19), with Leader of the House Bimal Rathnayake questioning his authority to convene such a meeting.

Premadasa told Parliament that the BASL had agreed to conduct a briefing for all 225 MPs at Parliament from noon to 1.30 p.m. today (20), focusing on the provisions of the proposed Constitutional Amendment and the issues surrounding appointments to the SC and CA.

However, the BASL has not confirmed that it will visit Parliament or conduct the proposed briefing.

Speaking in Parliament, Premadasa said he had initially requested the BASL to brief Opposition MPs on the 22nd Amendment Bill and the judicial vacancies several weeks ago, but had subsequently decided that all MPs should be made aware of the issues.

He said he had informed Speaker Dr Jagath Wickramaratne of the request and exchanged correspondence with the BASL, which had agreed to conduct the briefing.

Premadasa said he had also informed the Speaker of the arrangement and that the BASL had expressed its readiness to come to Parliament for a discussion and an exchange of views.

“This is a matter on which all 225 MPs should be informed. I will table all the relevant correspondence and documents in the Hansard. The BASL has also presented its views to the President. I invite all MPs to participate in this discussion so that everyone can be properly informed,” he said.

However, Rathnayake, referring to Standing Order 115, which deals with the Committee on Parliamentary Business, said the allocation of time for Parliamentary business and related matters was a function of the Committee, after consultation with the House Leader and under the authority of the Speaker.

He said the Committee had met on 7 August with the participation of the Speaker and Government and Opposition MPs, and that its records clearly set out the procedures for the relevant sitting days.

“The Committee has not given permission to call all MPs and conduct a discussion with a professional organisation. That is a very clear matter,” Rathnayake said.

He argued that the authority to convene MPs for such an arrangement rested with the House Leader, subject to the approval of the Committee, and that neither a professional organisation nor any other outside organisation had the authority to summon MPs.

Rathnayake said individual MPs remained free to attend meetings or discussions organised by professional groups if they wished, but such meetings could not be presented as an official programme involving all MPs.

He also warned that allowing the proposed briefing without following established Parliamentary procedures could set a precedent for other professional and interest groups to seek similar access to all MPs.

“If we give this opportunity, we will have to give permission to all the legal groups as well,” he said.

BASL President, attorney-at-law Rajeev Amarasuriya, was not available for comment.