Sunday Times 2
Criminal law made easy for laypeople and law students
View(s):Reviewed by Dr. W. D. Rodrigo
Dag Hammarskjold once said “The more we do, the more we can do; the busier we are the more leisure we have”. My colleague Additional Solicitor General President’s Counsel Sarath Jayamanne has proved the truth of this epigram by taking time off his extremely busy schedule of work to make an excellent contribution to Sri Lanka’s legal literature.
I enjoyed reading his book ‘Crime Recreated’ (Yali Mewena Aparadhayak) several times from cover to cover. It reminds me of a Chinese proverb: “If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people”.
Sarath is always planning for a lifetime. He has educated thousands of students at Sri Lanka Law College and the Colombo University’s Law Faculty. Criminal Procedure is his pet subject and he is a lecturer par excellence. This time he has decided to educate and share his experience not only with his students but also with the general public. I believe that it is for that reason that he has published his work ‘Crime Recreated’ in simple Sinhala, avoiding the jargon as much as possible.
As Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa and 1993 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate has said, “The education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. It appears to me from the contents of this work and the way in which it has been presented that the author has used the weapon skillfully. By dedicating his work to his teacher, Justice F. N. D. Jayasuriya, Sarath has set an example and taught a lesson to the public in general and to the student population in particular on the value of being grateful to teachers.
I know personally that for many people law, particularly criminal law, is a boring subject though they consider it as important. Sarath is a great teacher who seems to know both sides of this paradox. Hence he has imparted basic knowledge on various important aspects of criminal justice including the ingredients of a crime, criminal procedure and evidence in the form of a drama. The author has competently used landmark cases such as the Justice Sarath Ambepitiya murder case to illustrate the points he makes. In doing so he has given the book the appearance of a script of a drama in such a way that the reader does not feel that he is reading a law book.
The book is divided into 26 sections with titles such as ‘criminal law’, ‘evidence’, ‘circumstantial evidence’, ‘expert evidence’, ‘finger prints’ and ‘the role of the lawyers and the judges’ — each sub divided into shorter sections.
Additional Solicitor General Sarath Jayamanne
The incidence of crime has increased in Sri Lanka causing many social problems. Most of the offenders are not aware of the gravity of their criminal conduct until they are convicted and punished. As the law presumes every person to know the law, ignorance of the law is not an excuse. This is unfair by most of the citizens as there is no mechanism to impart an elementary knowledge of the law to every person.
For this reason, President’s Counsel Sarath Jayamanne’s ‘Crime Recreated’ (Yali Mewena Aparadhayak) is of immense value in educating lawyers, law students and more importantly lay persons who have had no formal education in law.
The book is an excellent contribution to an understanding of the application of criminal law and evidence to complex issues in criminal justice. The author’s admirable methodology can be demonstrated by his discussion of these issues. This is a valuable book which I strongly recommend for those interested in criminal law, criminal procedure and evidence. I wish the author every success in his future endeavours.
(The writer is a President’s Counsel and a Former Principal of Sri Lanka Law College)