PETITIONS AGAINST JUDICATURE ACT: JHU TO MEDIATE

Whileclaiming that some joint opposition members who were fear-stricken due to their past wrong doings had gone before the Supreme Court against the Judicature Act, the Jathika Hela Urumaya said yesterday it would appear in court today to ensure that the Act would be passed in Parliament without any hindrance. JHU General Secretary and Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka told a news conference that Judicature (Amendment) Act was brought in by the government to set up a permanent High Court-at-bar to expedite the large amount of pending cases.

He said what the government should have done at first was to set up this special court as promised by the government at the last presidential election to take action against wrong doers. Mr. Ranawaka said the people gave a mandate to the government to take action against frauds and corruption of the previous government at the presidential election. He said he and several other ministers presented four Cabinet papers to set up the special court on several occasions but failed to do so due to intervention by some government members against it. He said the judiciary was gradually becoming independent and added that it was not enough to have an independent judicial system but it should be efficient, impartial and modernized as well.

“The judicial system should be impartial. We feel that the judiciary is partial to certain people where they are concerned as special people and prevent their cases being taken,” he said. Mr. Ranawaka said information regarding the cases against some people is being revealed now and added that they were trying to prevent the special court being set up. “This case will not take up cases of the previous government but the case on the Central Bank bond issuance can also be taken up at this court,” he said.

JHU Co-chairman and Deputy Minister Karunaratne Paranavithana said the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) seemed to have politicized where they have gone before the Supreme Court citing technical defects of the Judicature Act and urged them to support the Act.