News
House of Justice at new site
View(s):High Courts, District and Magistrate’s Courts to be shifted from Hulftsdorp; Chinese company may get contract
By Anthony David
All Hulftsdorp courts, barring the Superior Courts complex, are to be shifted to a “House of Justice” to be constructed on six acres of land.
It will be located at Meeraniya Street, a kilometre away from the existing courts, and was once the property of British Ceylon Corporation (BCC). The site is between the Panchikawatte Junction (Maradana) and Armour Street.
For this purpose, Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has asked the Cabinet to accept an unsolicited proposal from a Chinese firm, the Yangian Group. “The District Courts, High Courts and Magistrate’s Courts will be moved there,” he told the Sunday Times.
The Chinese company has estimated the project to cost US$ 129.9 million. The same firm Yangian was responsible for the construction of the Nelum Pokuna, the Bandaranaike International Exhibition Centre and the Army Hospital for the National Defence Academy of Sri Lanka.
Earlier, the Justice Ministry had proposed to construct another Superior Courts complex at the new location and shift the present Chinese-funded one in Hulftsdorp. It was handed over to Sri Lanka during the tenure of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. However, a delay in the planned completion of the project forced the Ministry to drop the idea.
Thereafter, the Ministry tried to relocate the Superior Courts complex to another premises until a Chinese firm carried out refurbishment work.
Chinese experts were also to conduct a structural examination. However, the Ministry was unable to find suitable premises. Hence, the repair work which was to begin last month and continue through June is at a standstill.
Pointing out that Colombo Hulftsdorp is the centre of administration of Justice, Minister Rajapakshe told his colleagues that “all other courts including three Commercial High Courts, eight High Courts, one Civil Appeal High Court, ten District Courts and nine Magistrate Courts (including Traffic Courts) are housed in old colonial buildings constructed in the 19th century.”
He has said that “Since the buildings are very old and in a dilapidated condition, the functioning of courts has become dangerous to the litigants and the general public.” Describing the environment as “utterly congested,” Mr. Rajapakshe has added that “Labour Tribunals are functioning in rented buildings with minimal facilities.” He has pointed out that as a result judges,the litigants, staff and lawyers experience severe hardships affecting the efficiency of the system and easy access to the public.
It was during the administration of President Mahinda Rajapaksa that approval was granted for the construction of a House of Justice. The Department of External Resources had approached the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Saudi Fund for Development and Economic Development Co-operation and South Korea. However, there has been no favourable outcome.