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Commonwealth Secretariat raises queries over transfers of judges
View(s):The Commonwealth Secretariat has made inquiries from the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) about the recent transfer of a large number of district court and magistrate’s court judges, a spokesperson for the BASL said yesterday.
He said the Commonwealth Secretariat had raised queries about the transfers of about 80 of the 240 district judges and magistrates. Most of those transferred by the Judicial Services Commission headed by Chief Justice 44 Mohan Peiris were senior officials of the Judicial Services Association and had taken a strong stand against the impeachment of Chief Justice 43 Shirani Bandaranayake.
The Sunday Times learns these transfers were effected despite the assurance given by Chief Justice 44 Mohan Pieris who promised the judges that he would not unfairly transfers them, when he met them soon after his appointment.
“The judges are afraid to talk about the issue,” he said. However, the BASL appointed a subcommittee to look into the sudden transfers of judicial officers, some of whom have not even completed their term of three years, he said.
The BASL at an emergency meeting of the Bar Council April 6 decided to appoint this subcommittee amidst widespread protests that some, if not, most of the transfers were politically or personally motivated.
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