My association with Justice Mark Fernando goes back to the days when my wife worked as his junior in his Chambers, from around 1986.
Because I was aware of his achievements and capabilities, I was all the more amazed at how simply he lived, and by his clear thinking, and quick and penetrative mind.
Mark’s great strength was his ability to put big things in “small and simple” ways. No problem was too complex for his sharp mind. He could present any complex issue in a simple, common-sense manner.
I recall the great legal luminary, the late E. D. Wikramanayake, telling me, “Geoff, I worked as Secretary to H. N. G. [the former Supreme Court Chief Justice H. N. G. Fernando, Mark Fernando’s father] for about six months and I learnt most of my law under him. He had a great mind.
But when I appear in the Supreme Court before Mark, I am convinced that he is even better. When I begin an argument before Mark, I can tell from the glint in his eye that he has seen the end of it, and woe unto me should my thinking process be faulty.”
With all his ability, Mark was a model of patience and humility, and a lesson in dignity. He would not cut short a counsel’s argument or pre-empt a counsel by imposing his views. He generally avoided interrupting when a counsel was presenting his case. He never pretended to know all of the law or the established legal authorities.
His queries were grounded in logic, practicality and commonsense.
Mark Fernando was always ready to listen to junior lawyers struggling to present an argument, something that often irked senior lawyers. His impartiality and independence was comforting. What mattered to him was the case before him, and its merits in respect of facts and the law.
The late H. L. de Silva said that Mark Fernando had a mind of steel, and that he would not be swayed by purely emotional considerations. With Mark, you were generally not at risk of losing a good case. His sense of humour gave a human touch to legal proceedings. If a counsel needed a “ticking off”, Mark would do so gently.
While Mark Fernando did not openly profess religious principles, he believed that as a judge he was discharging a sacred duty through the office entrusted to him. He was deeply conscious of the fact that he was paid from public funds and that all persons, regardless of background or status, are equal stakeholders.
The law will not be served by merely clever or convincing arguments but through value-based judgements and a genuine desire to stand for the basic values of equality, transparency and fairness.
Mark Fernando will stand tall among many, not only as a brilliant legal mind, but also for his principles, deep faith and humility in the dispensing of justice.
Geoffrey Alagaratnam |
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