It is a rare phenomenon in public life in Sri Lanka to find committed professionals possessing both the capacity and the courage to address injustices in society without political or personal motivations.
The recent publication ‘Good Governance and the Rule of Law’ by CIMOGG exemplifies the above.
The book constitutes a compilation of articles contributed to the press during September 2005-March 2011 by CIMOGG President, A.C. Visvalingam, a chartered engineer by profession who most creditably relinquished his professional work in 2005 upon being elected as President of CIMOGG. In that sense, these articles have already been in the public domain and readers of the daily and weekend newspapers are generally familiar with the content of the writings.
However, their compilation in one volume indicates the wide sweep of the issues addressed by CIMOGG during this period as well as the consistent and principled stand taken in respect of matters that go to the heart of our democratic systems. Unsurprisingly given the nature of the political environment in Sri Lanka today, it appears that CIMOGG itself has been very conscious of the need to stress the taking of an apolitical stand as evidenced by the preliminary reminder by the author in the Foreword that ‘CIMOGG is not aligned to any party or group. Its articles have been critical of poor governance irrespective of the parties or the loyalties of the politicians named therein.’
As a human rights advocate who has been consistently advocating a greater involvement of the ordinary people in this country’s legal systems and the quality of justice, what struck me most about this compilation was the firm and unyielding position taken by the author and the organization in regard to the preservation of the independence of the judiciary and the integrity of judicial officers.
Indeed, commencing from published articles in 2005, the book opens to two sentences that are striking in their unequivocal demand for an improvement in the quality of justice. Thus, on September 3, 2005, it is observed that ‘Recent surveys have revealed that there has been a progressive erosion of public trust in many state institutions. CIMOGG notes with the greatest possible regret that this loss of confidence extends to the Judiciary as well because of the less than exemplary conduct of some Judicial officers.’
The importance of these two sentences should not be underestimated as it sets the tone of what is to follow. In the first instance, such a firm statement of principle may have been departed from by some due to the all too familiar fear of contempt of court. It is quite admirable therefore that the author has not allowed such unworthy fears to prevent him from addressing a problem that is certainly present in the public mind though not voiced as such by many. This particular statement goes on to observe that a Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers should be drafted by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) on the lines of the well accepted Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct and adopted by the judicial community. This recommendation which has been echoed by many others in this country has, of course, not been yet adhered to.
This focus on judicial institutions is present right throughout these writings. For example, the CIMOGG statement of February 6, 2006 hones in on the resignations of two judges from the JSC as then constituted, over purported differences of opinion with the then Chief Justice. A novel feature of this statement which perhaps may have escaped the attention of many of us is the author’s suggestion that the JSC may be reconstituted from being a three member body comprising the Chief Justice and two other judges to a seven member body with the inclusion of four distinguished legal academics and/or public figures of high integrity. Such a suggestion may well be looked askance at by purists who would like to maintain that the appointment, transfer, dismissal and disciplinary control of subordinate judicial officers which the JSC is constitutionally tasked with, should be a function peculiarly left to the judges themselves. But there is much merit in the CIMOGG call for an expansion of the JSC and for a Code of Conduct for Judicial officers.
It may be recalled that for all its flaws, the systems of disciplining judicial officers in India have proceeded on far more vigorous lines as contrasted to Sri Lanka. The fact that India has a Contempt of Court law and a media which brushes aside attempts to use contempt laws to protect corrupt or erring judges are significant factors in this regard. One good illustration was in 1997 when allegations were made regarding unjustifiably high payments from a publisher to the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. At that point, the Chief Justice resigned following an uproar and the Supreme Court, sitting in a Full Court meeting, resolved that the Court should devise an in-house procedure to take action against judges who by acts of omission or commission, do not follow universally accepted values of judicial life.
A “Restatement of Values of Judicial Life” comprising values that are essential for an independent, strong and respected judiciary and intended to serve as a guide for judges, was judicially articulated and sought to be effectively monitored by a seven member in-house disciplinary committee. While the working of such procedures have perhaps been less than perfect in the intervening years, at least these attempts show that the public and the legal cum judicial community is alive to the importance of judicial accountability. These are lessons that Sri Lanka can learn from and the emphasis by CIMOGG on these aspects is indeed praiseworthy. Other significant problems in the legal system, including laws delays also feature prominently in this compilation.
CIMOGG is meanwhile distinguished by its dogged determination to uphold the value of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution and to encourage necessary amendments even at a time when public attention, (including by civil society organizations), to the flouting of this constitutional amendment was faltering. Dr. Visvalingam was, in any event, uniquely positioned to take an informed stand on this amendment given that he himself had been a member of the Public Service Commission from 2002-2005 when the 17th Amendment was properly functional.
It would take far too much space to synopsize each and every topic under which these most valuable contributions have been made to the importance of good governance. The other issues of note in this publication range from persistent calls for a Right to Information law, the need for adherence by politicians to the Assets and Liabilities law, the pervasive presence of corruption in the public sector, the vexed problem of presidential immunity and constitutional reforms to the far more mundane issues of daily life such as garbage disposal.
Perhaps more than anything else, this publication shows the worth of slow and steady interventions to promote good governance in public debate in a context when such terms have sadly become mere catchwords for many. The author’s untiring efforts and the support of CIMOGG towards such an endeavour are to be applauded. As Robert Frost once said so aptly, there are many miles indeed to go before one can sleep. Undoubtedly these efforts are testimony to the good fight that all Sri Lankans must surely engage in, listeming to the call of their own consciences. |
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