Barprotestsoverprivileged positionstoretiredjudges

Speaking on behalf of the country’s legal fraternity, the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka yesterday urged that offering privileged positions to judges after retirement by the Executive President should stop.

The head of the unofficial bar, Upul Jayasuirya was addressing an event at the ceremonial sitting held to welcome newly appointed Court of Appeal judge, Malini Gunaratna.

“The unfortunate practice of conferring privileged positions on judicial officers after retirement at the discretion of the executive should cease,” Mr. Jayasuirya said.

“As a profession, we shall not accept any compromise in the integrity of the judiciary. It is our duty to foster and maintain the public trust in the hallowed institution that was nurtured over centuries, with dedication and sacrifice,” he said at the gathering in which all judicial officers from the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, Colombo High Court, District Court and Magistrate courts participated.

Speaking on behalf of more than 15,000 attorneys around the country, Mr. Jayasuriya also commented on the political interference and breakdown of rule of law.

“We have seen frequent instances where the principle of equality before law appears to have been undermined, especially in cases involving influential persons. Public cynicism is widespread in regard to the manner in which the principle of equality has been ignored. There appears to have been several instances of apparent impunity for politically influential persons who openly violate the law. Others who may, under normal circumstances not be penalized, have been arbitrarily punished by politically influential persons,” he said.

“It seems the rule rather than the exception, that the law that applies to people with right connections can be different to the law that applies to the powerless and the people with divergent views. It is with some satisfaction that, we see that, in the very recent past, there have been several instances of persons, who may have thought they were immune from legal consequences, being now brought before the Courts. We hope this trend continues.”

Justice Malini Gunaratna joined the bar in 1979 and had served the Judiciary for 27 years in several areas including Colombo, Kurunegala, Panadura and Chilaw as a High Court Judge. She had obtained the Masters Degree in Law at the Deakin University Australia with international exposure in National Law School in Bangalore and National Judicial College at the University of Nevada, Reno.