Sarath Weerasekara to move SC to interpret Stay Order

In the event of a Stay Order, the status quo remains. Therefore, Dissolution of Parliament is the status quo that should remain

Former MP Sarath Weerasekara who is now involved with the National Rights Organization said yesterday he would move the Supreme Court today for an interpretation of the Stay Order on the Dissolution of Parliament.

Mr. Weerasekara who headed the Civil Defence Force during the war said Parliament could not be convened by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya according to the Stay Order. Therefore, he said the Speaker’s action amounted to a Contempt of Court. “I will move the Supreme Court seeking an interpretation of this Stay Order,” he said. Besides, legal academic Raja Gunaratne told a news conference yesterday that any forward or backward action could not be taken in the event of a Stay Order. “In the event of a Stay Order, the status quo remains. Therefore, Dissolution of Parliament is the status quo that should remain.

If Parliament is convened, it will be a backward action,” Mr. Gunaratne who is a lecturer in law at the Open University said.