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Was judge denied promotion due to adverse order given in CJ 43 case, asks BASL chief
View(s):The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) President yesterday asked why a senior Court of Appeal judge had been consistently overlooked for promotion — and whether it was because he was part of the Bench that gave an order adverse to the Parliamentary Select Committee that recommended the impeachment of Chief Justice 43 Shirani Bandaranayake.
Speaking at the opening of the multi-million rupee state-of-the-art auditorium of the BASL at Hulftsdorp, BASL President Upul Jayasuriya said two of the judges of the Court of Appeal, the late Justice T. Sri Skandarajah and Justice Anil Gooneratne were deprived of their rightful promotions.
BASL President Upul Jayasuriya in coversation with Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and US Ambassador Michele Sison at yesterday’s opening of the BASL auditorium at Hulftsdorp.
“I have to ask the Government this. Do you not want honest judges in the judiciary?” Mr. Jayasuriya asked.
He cited an example where Justice Parinda Ranasinghe gave an order against the State, overthrowing the High Court order even though the virtual complainant was President J.R. Jayewardene in the criminal defamation action against an Opposition MP. He said that President Jayewardene not only gave Justice Ranasinghe his due promotion, but also made him Chief Justice later.
The BASL auditorium was named the Dr. H.W. Jayewardene Auditorium in memory of the first President of the BASL — Dr. H.W. Jayewardene Q.C.
Mr. Jayasuriya said Dr. Jayewardene was in the vanguard of the resistance by the Bar to the meddling in the independence of the Bar and Bench by the then Minister of Justice.
He referred to the instance when the then Minister acquired the building owned by the Incorporated Law Society (which now houses the Legal Aid Commission) and asked T.G. Gooneratne, then a State Attorney to manage it. He said Mr. Gooneratne had refused to do so despite being a State Attorney because the Minister’s action was a frontal attack on the legal profession.
The then Minister had also wanted to cripple the BASL and had asked all lawyers in the Attorney General’s Department who were members of the former Bar Council (Union of Advocates before the fusion of the profession) to resign, but they had refused to do so. That was the calibre of those in the Official Bar then, he said.
Referring to the outgoing Attorney General Palitha Fernando, the BASL President said that they were classmates from Grade one and that Mr. Fernando had discharged his duties with aplomb.
He said that Dr. H.W. Jayewardene Q.C. won the hotly contested first BASL elections by 112 votes and despite being the brother of the then Opposition Leader, J.R. Jayewardene, he had invited then Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s personal lawyer, C. Thiagalingam Q.C. to be the second President of the BASL, but he had declined. On a later occasion Dr. Jayewardene promoted the candidature of H.L. de Silva P.C., an eminent lawyer who was also legal counsel to Ms. Bandaranaike, and ensured his victory.
After 1977 Dr. Jayewardene was instrumental in getting the building that was acquired, vested in the BASL.
Dr. Jayewardene had a Chamber with a galaxy of eminent juniors, among whom were former Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, former Chief Justice Parinda Ranasinghe, former Supreme Court judge Mark Fernando, Chandra Seneviratne PC., and the current Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. Mr. Jayasuriya said two of Dr. Jayewardene’s juniors became Presidents of the BASL, viz., Mr. N.R.M. Daluwatte and himself.
Referring to the recent appointment of appellate court judges, Mr. Jayasuriya said that with the promulgation of the 1978 Constitution several new judges were appointed directly from the unofficial Bar. They were men of stature and eminence. They stood up for judicial independence and integrity of the profession. Chief Justice Neville Samarakoon, Justice Mark Fernando, Justice A.R.B. Amerasinghe, Justice Dheeraratna, were a few of them.
“Dr. Jayewardene may well have advised President Jayewardene in making these appointments. They were not cronies. They had the courage to stand up to their convictions to conscientiously hold against the very Executive that appointed them and develop the Law on Fundamental Rights in its formative stage. These are the Judgments that face up-to the embarrassment of some of the new appointees to the Judiciary. He was even responsible in recommending some worthy names for silk,” Mr. Jayasuriya said.
“It is essential for each generation to share with successive generations, the experiences and the struggles of the past to preserve a constitutional democracy and the rule of law.
“The nearby Supreme Court stands as a monument to the unique contribution of Dr. Jayewardene to Hulftsdorp. He obtained the assistance of Justice Dr. A.R.B. Amarasinghe and the two of them planned everything meticulously, even the beautiful paintings that hang on the walls of that magnificent edifice,” Mr. Jayasuriya said.
Opposition Leader Wickremesinghe, US Ambassador Michele Sison, Attorney General Palitha Fernando, family members of the late Dr. H.W. Jayewardene QC, judges and lawyers were present.
| BASL to meet on unethical appointments to the Judiciary
The Bar Council of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) yesterday resolved to summon a Special General Meeting to discuss the unethical appointments to the Judiciary. |