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Govt. and Opposition MPs trade barbs over independence of judiciary
View(s):Former Justice Minister and Samagi Jana Balawegaya frontliner Thalatha Athukorale accused the Justice Minister of placing an unnecessary tax burden of an additional Rs. 400 million on the people by temporarily locating the Justice Ministry in the World Trade Centre building.
She asked what was the big hurry to shift the ministry to another place at the huge cost of Rs. 400 million rent for two years while there were other priorities such as improving the facilities for judges and Court houses. “Most court houses are in dilapidated conditions and lacks basic facilities,” she said, pointing out that the 200-year-old court complex at “the back of your ministry need repairs.”
She made these remarks while addressing Parliament during the vote on the Justice Ministry on Thursday – the final day of the committee stage debate on the 2021 Budget.
She also said the appointment of more judges to the appellate courts was done without taking into consideration the logistical issues and added that the moves indicated that the government lacked foresight.
Explaining the reasons, Justice Minister Ali Sabry said the option was to find new court rooms in other location or to locate them in the ministry building. He said he chose the latter option as it was cost effective. He said the decision was taken in good faith, though it had backfired on him.
Fourteen new judges were appointed to the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal in terms of an amendment introduced to the 20th Amendment Bill during the third reading.
Ms. Athukorale accused the government of cherry picking the judges when the new appointments were made. She said, “some of the senior judges have been overlooked but a judge who delivered the “Sil Redi” judgment had been promoted though he is a junior.”
She said that when judges were appointed during the previous government, the Constitutional Council made the appointments taking into consideration the seniority of the judges.
In response Minister Sabry questioned the previous government’s commitment to justice as it had appointed special courts to try political opponents without clearly stating the appeal process. He said he filed eight appeals against the Special Court when he was appearing for Gotabaya Rajapaksa before he became President, as the appeal process had not been specified in the relevant law.
The debate also saw government and opposition MPs trading barbs over the independence of the judiciary. Ms. Atukorale challenged Justice Minister Sabry to cite his reason for tabling in the House the judgment against the Presidential Secretary and the then Telecom Regulatory Commission Director General in the Sil Redi case.
The government MPs reacted angrily when Ms. Athukorale said that Parllimentarian Premalal Dissanayake who was convicted for murder could also be saved just as those involved in the Sil Redi and Divineguma cases had been saved.
An angry Justice Minister accused her of insulting the judiciary. “Be cool, be cool,” she replied while continuing her speech accusing the government of undermining the independence of the judiciary.
“What is the insinuation? Can she make such remarks against the Judiciary,” asked Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara.
On a calmer note, Ms. Athukorale requested the Government to incorporate legal studies to the school curriculum starting from grade six onwards. “One of the reasons for overcrowding prisons is the ignorance of law,” she said.
National People Power MP Vijitha Herath pointed out that the Interim report on Mahara Prison incident clearly indicated that prisoners had been shot at, although the Justice Minister had a different interpretation. “They were shot at because of they demanded PCR tests, which was a fare request,” he said.