President concerned over “Care of Cabinet Office” mail

The rising number of cases in the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal --citing Cabinet Ministers as respondents -- has caused concern for President Maithripala Sirisena.

From December 1, 2016 to June 30, this year he has noted that 28 cases are being heard in the Superior Court.

Until recently, Sirisena said in a memorandum to his ministers that “in respect of cases where Cabinet Ministers have been cited as respondents were sent by the attorney-at-law for the petitioners to the respective official address of each minister, as indicated in the Website of this office.”

However, he has said that in the “past few months, adopting a different procedure, Notices intended to be delivered to all the Cabinet Ministers have been sent to the Cabinet Office in one parcel. This is because the attorneys-at-law for the petitioners had stated “Care of Cabinet Office.”

As a result, in a fundamental rights case which came up on April 6, this year the petition was delivered to the Office of the Cabinet of Ministers only the day before (April 5, 2017). In another instance, President Sirisena has pointed out, a notice in respect of a fundamental rights application was sent to the cabinet office on June 23 this year when the case had come up the day before (June 22, 2017). Mr. Sirisena has also listed a number of similar instances.

Consequently, ministers have now agreed that the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka be informed to instruct attorneys-at-law for the petitioners of the necessity to include the official addresses of the minister concerned in the captions of Affidavits and Petitions when tendering applications to the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal.

They have also agreed to inform the Registrars of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal to follow suit.