Upul for BASL top post

Senior Attorney Upul Jayasuriya has announced he would be contesting for the presidency of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) for the year 2007/2008. Mr. Jayasuriya, having joined the BASL in 1976, served as its Secretary from 1991 to 1993 and is currently the President of the Colombo Law Society (CLS).

Mr. Jayasuriya said he had identified several key areas relating to problems faced by those in the legal profession and he hoped to tackle them once elected.“The Bar must be more vigilant, vibrant and vocal when necessary. If the Bar Association displays a lackadaisical attitude on the issues that are faced by its members, it would be a sad day for the legal profession,” he said.

He said corporate institutions were charging legal fees depriving the lawyers of their dues in contravention of the Intermeddling with Suitors’ Ordinance while millions of dollars were being spent by the public sector on foreign law firms. Mr. Jayasuriya was of the view that lawyers should be treated on par with doctors in public service, in the grant of duty-free permits to import vehicles while he believes there was a misunderstanding developing between the Bench and the Bar which was causing a violation of the rules of natural justice.

He said the public had to be concerned for their lives when visiting a police station and that even junior lawyers were not safe when they visited a police station on account of clients’ rights. Speaking on behalf of the junior lawyers, he said there should be a friendly environment to make them feel wanted, particularly because of the large numbers entering the Bar, while outstation Bars should be given more prominence.