Letters to the Editor
View(s):Having faith in the judiciary is of paramount importance
Also, there have been reports of expressing opinion and lamentation over seeking the intervention of the Judiciary as a cause for the delay in resolving the present impasse. Even at the cost of time, the rule of law is the protector of the society in a democracy.
In democracies, the resolution of political crisis is harder to come by sooner, as it demands consensus of all stakeholders, which is equally harder to come by. However, the opportunity of seeking “Judicial Review” of Executive action is the right of the citizens provided by the constitution. Therefore nobody should be perturbed by citizens resorting to such action. It’s the ultimate lawful action a citizen can resort to, in a democratic society
In the process of “Judicial Review,” Judiciary is the final adjudicator of the contested issues before the court. In a democratic society, the rule of law needs to be protected. It is the Judiciary that always comes to the public’s attention, whenever the citizens are faced with doubtful issues needing judicial intervention. An independent judiciary is the most precious jewel in the democratic crown.
There are always many opinions going on in the public domain. The issues contested may be of political sensitivity and of political consequences. The Judiciary always works against the forces of both political power and public opinion. No one is guaranteed a desired outcome – only a fair verdict. The Constitution – the country’s ultimate law is based on perhaps the biggest mutual accommodation of all, against the needs of society to govern it. They should be taken seriously in spite of personal frustrations.
The judicial intervention and “Judicial Review” of executive action is enshrined by our constitution. Our constitution; the supreme law of the country, provides for the exercise of the Sovereignty of the People independently and separately by the Legislature, Executive and the Judiciary. It says, The Sovereignty of the People shall be exercised and enjoyed in the following manner:
(a) The legislative power of the People shall be exercised by Parliament, consisting of elected representatives of the People and by the People at a Referendum;
(b) The executive power of the People including the defence of Sri Lanka, shall be exercised by the President of the Republic elected by the People;
(c) The judicial power of the People shall be exercised by Parliament through courts, tribunals and institutions created and established, or recognized, by the Constitution, or created and established by law, except in regard to matters relating to the privileges, immunities and powers of Parliament and of its Members, wherein the judicial power of the People may be exercised directly by Parliament according to law;
The Legislative supremacy and separation of powers are two distinct theories of the manner in which the government is organised in our democracy.
Differences in organizing “democratic” societies led to different views regarding judicial review. Our constitution has stressed on separation of power. “Judicial review” is the form of checks and balances in the separation of powers; the power of the judiciary to supervise the Legislative and Executive branches when the latter exceed their authority.
The Judicial Review is the best course of action to resolve the impasse the citizens are facing today.
Raja Wickramasinghe Via email
Politicians, put your motherland before everything else
We have politicians, most of them who have more than 10 years experience, all of them have very good public speaking skills, leadership skills, language skills etc. Some are professionals, some are teachers, some are actors, some are talented cricketers.
With all these assets and resources why have we not improved as a country? We are far behind compared to other countries.
Unfortunately, politicians all have one weakness: they do not love our motherland. They love their school, they love the political party, they love our cricket team. they love music and dance, but they do not love our country.
Politicians must give first place to our country. What is happening now is just the opposite. They put the country in second or even third place.
This is the reason we do not improve as a country. Economically we are weak. We are in a debt crisis. We are in a political crisis. We are facing a financial crisis. We do not manufacture our basic needs, we import everything.
Politicians, have a sense of pride in your motherland. Just as your mother has given birth to you, so too the land has given birth to you.
Love your motherland; do not behave in a way that will be an insult to our motherland.
This is a kind request is to all politicians.
D. Weeratunga Via email
Don’t keep deceiving the people by trying to blame only Ranil and others for ‘bad’ Cabinet decisions
After the happenings of October 26, many including President Sirisena keep saying that Ranil Wickremesinghe and the ministers who were members of his party were the ones who are responsible for destructive Cabinet decisions. Two such important decisions being criticised on a daily basis are the leasing out of the Magampura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port and postponing of the PC elections. Both these subjects were handled by two Ministers of Sirisena’s party who are still with Sirisena.
The President now talks like he was alone in the Cabinet – is he trying to hide the fact that he had about 15 Cabinet Ministers from his party who are still going behind him criticising the past Cabinet decisions?
President Sirisena made a wrong calculation and was deceived by the campaign carried out by the SLPP. He thought the SLPP has a large following as they managed to organise several processions and rallies bringing in thousands of people. Many failed to realise that Mahinda Rajapaksa got 5.8 million votes, thus having a meeting with a huge crowd was not a wonder.
They also failed to understand that whatever the faults Yahapalanaya had, that this would not make 6.2 million voters turn to the Rajapaksas although it could have been to some other party. President Sirisena too must have felt that joining with the Rajapaksas would make his second term dream into reality.
S. K. Muthukumara Via email