News
Superior Courts go electronic for bail applications
The Court of Appeal took up four freshly-filed bail applications on Thursday, and issued notices on the Attorney-General returnable for May 11 in respect of three of these bail applications.
Issuing a circular extraordinary, the Court of Appeal President decided to constitute one bench for bail applications and another for urgent matters.
He had issued guidelines to the effect that in view of the prevailing conditions, lawyers could file motions and pleadings electronically to lodge these bail applications. It was only after these measures were announced that these four bail applications had been filed electronically and decisions to issue notices were taken by the court division dealing with bail.
Another vacation court has also been constituted by the President of the Court of Appeal to take up urgent matters which have to be pleaded as such in the motions.
Meanwhile, The Sunday Times reliably learns that the Superior Courts also explored possibilities to begin hearings by way of video conferencing if current conditions continue to persist.
Earlier the Court of Appeal Registrar issued a circular to convene the vacation court of the Court of Appeal on Thursday (April 9) to deal with bail applications in which inquiries had already been fixed.
Accordingly, a motion should have been filed on or before April 6, requiring a hearing, with a copy having been served on the other party.
Those motions for bail applications were to be taken up for hearing when the vacation court convened on April 9. Motions could be electronically submitted to the email address sanathpinnaduwa2@gmail.com.
“Though the Court is hamstrung by the non-availability of support staff to entertain fresh applications for bail, it has been decided to entertain fresh filings for bail, provided the application for bail along with an accompanying motion is submitted electronically to the above email address on or before April 6. Subsequent steps such as formal notice, objections and inquiry for these fresh filings will be fixed for dates in next term,” the circular read.
The Registrar also said that if any attorney desired that a matter should be taken up on the basis of an urgency, a motion could be filed on or before April 15 setting out the grounds of urgency. The judges will determine the urgency or otherwise of the grounds set out and will list the emergency matter so determined before a vacation court which will convene on April 21.