Will seek international judicial mechanism if Govt backtracks on foreign judges - MP Sumanthiran

If the Government of Sri Lanka does not adhere to commitments it has made to the international community to set up a hybrid justice mechanism, which includes foreign judges, to probe allegations of war crimes and human rights violations, the Tamil people will be left with no alternative but to seek an entirely foreign judicial mechanism, Tamil National Alliance(TNA) MP M.A. Sumanthiran told Parliament today.

By Sandun Jayawardana

Participating in the Committee Stage debate of the Budget, Mr Sumanthiran noted that yesterday, Sri Lanka cosponsored a resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the third time. The latest resolution reiterates Sri Lanka’s commitment to adhere to commitments Resolution 30/1 of 2015.

Accordingly, yesterday, Sri Lanka again committed to set up a judicial mechanism which includes foreign judges, prosecutors, defence lawyers and investigators, he added. “It is false to say otherwise. This is an authoritative text. There can be no other interpretation to this,” he pointed out, adding that the Foreign Minister was falsely claiming that the country’s Constitution does not permit foreign judges to participate in the country’s judicial mechanism.

Mr Sumanthiran noted that in 2015, then Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe had agreed that it was possible to have foreign judges in the country’s judicial mechanism, and that UNHRC Resolution 30/1 had been signed based on his agreement. In fact, in 2013, Mr Rajapakshe, who was then an Opposition MP, had presented a private member’s bill during the impeachment of former Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake which provided for foreign judges, Mr Sumanthiran pointed out.

Adding that the Tamil people have been asking for an entirely foreign judicial mechanism, the TNA MP remarked that if the Government continues to breach the international commitments it has made to include foreign judges, they will be forced to refer Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court (ICC) or other foreign judicial mechanism.