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Bar Council urges PSC to delay probe by two months
The Bar Council, the policy making body of the country’s lawyers, unanimously resolved yesterday to urge the Parliamentary Select Committee probing the impeachment motion against Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake to postpone its sittings by two months in line with the recommendation of the Supreme Court.
'Don't give up, keep it up' seems to be message from lawyers and the Supreme Court staff as Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake returned to her chambers in Hulftsdorp after she confidently faced an impeachment motion against her before the Parliamentary Select Committee on Friday. Pic by Mangala Weerasekera
Wijeyadasa Rajapaksha, President of the Bar Association Sri Lanka (BASL), told the Sunday Times the decision was made by the controlling body, the Bar Council, at a meeting yesterday. The Council is made up of 78 representatives from Colombo and branch organisations.
On Thursday, a three-judge Supreme Court bench presided over by Justice Gamini Amarathunga and comprising Justices K. Sripavan and Priyasath Dep “recommended” that it would be “prudent” for the PSC to delay its sittings. The recommendation came when the SC heard nine petitions seeking a determination on the constitutionality of the PSC. This was on the argument that the PSC has been constituted under Parliament Standing Orders which are described in the petitions before the SC as a procedure for the conduct of the House and were hence not a law.
The BASL move came as a group of lawyers, who did not wish to be identified until their task was over, made preparations yesterday to move the Supreme Court tomorrow. Documents were being prepared to seek the Court’s intervention to issue a rule on lawyers who are members of the PSC on the grounds that they had not heeded the Supreme Court’s “recommendation”.
Mr. Rajapaksha said the Bar Council also decided to appoint a steering committee of past presidents and senior lawyers. “Several bar societies have told us they would carry out countrywide programmes to create awareness among the people how the work of the judiciary is now being hampered,” he added.
He said the steering committee would be headed by Ajantha Athukorale and would include Romesh de Silva, Ikram Mohamed, Upali Gunarathne and Shibly Aziz. Three more lawyers, Upul Jayasuriya, Razik Zarook and Jeffrey Alagaratnam, have also been co-opted, Mr. Rajapaksha said.
“The steering committee will do its utmost to get the parties concerned to heed the SC recommendation,” the BASL President said.
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