A serious controversy has resulted after two senior judges resigned from their positions in the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), as they found that remaining in office would compromise their conscience. There have been serious disputes within the Bar Association of Sri Lanka as to what appropriate measures should be taken to respond to this situation. Meanwhile, a press release issued by the Secretary of the Judicial Service Commission, purported to be on the instructions of the Chief Justice, S.N. De Silva, who is the remaining member of the JSC, has worsened the situation. The statement attempts to downplay the importance of the resignations and even contains derogatory personal remarks about the two resigning senior judges. Since the grievances are based on the workings of the JSC, which consists of three members, but the statement of the Secretary of the JSC represents only the view of the one remaining member, there is also the feeling that the statement is unfair to the two members who have given their resignations to the President. The desire to clarify the actual circumstances which gave rise to the resignations and what appropriate response is required by the President, the Parliament, the Bar Association of the country, and also by all persons concerned with the proper administration of justice, is rapidly becoming an issue.
This comes as no surprise as it is rare in Sri Lanka for persons holding high offices to resign on a matter of principle. The idea that it is an obligation for persons holding public office to resign if the circumstances become so oppressive that they are unable to carry out their duties without compromising their principles, has not been one that has become part of the moral and ethical code of the countrys civil servants and those who hold high office. What is even less appreciated is the whistle-blowers role. Whistle-blowers are those concerned persons who become aware of matters or events that they think should not happen and who then try to bring these to the notice of others who have the duty of correcting them. Resignations based on matters of principle are a form of whistle-blowing that should lead to responses on the part of the higher authorities who can take corrective action. Society at large should also respond actively in order to get a clear understanding of the revelations that are being made by the whistle-blowers, so that public opinion can be formed and pressure exerted on the higher authorities, in order to have such wrongs corrected.
The President and the government are duty-bound to respond to the resignations of the two senior judges of the JSC. In addition, the leader of the opposition and the opposition parties also have a duty to be involved in dealing with the issues that have been raised by these resignations. The resignation letters have been tendered to the President of Sri Lanka. The President must call for a full report into the circumstances that have led to these resignations, and if the report reveals matters concerning which he should take appropriate action, as the head of the state, he is obliged to take such action. Power politics should play no role in matters of this nature. The only matter that should be taken into consideration is the maintenance of the highest standards within the highest bodies on which the very preservation of the state rests. To ignore the matters raised by the resignations, allowing the situation to carry on as if nothing has happened, damages the very existence of the state and creates conditions for anarchy and chaos.
A retired senior judge commenting on the present situation has said that, “We need not be alarmed at any state of chaos because thats what we usually have.” However, the view of many others is that the state of chaos that has already gone on for too long should not be allowed to continue. The Asian Human Rights Commission is aware of the state of chaos relating to the administration of justice, which has prevailed in the country for some time, and has intervened on numerous important occasions concerning this. The most recent such occasion concerned a serious controversy in relation to the interdiction of a Wellawaya Magistrate after this Magistrate issued a warrant against a senior police officer who was alleged to have substituted his driver for himself in a case of a fatal road accident, where the senior police officer was alleged to have been the actual driver. The handling of the case remained a matter of importance for both the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and for the general public, as evidenced by the large amount of media coverage.
The denial made by the secretary of the JSC concerning claims that the resignation of the two members from the JSC would badly affect the commission is hardly satisfactory. The grievance held by the two resigning members is that things have, in fact, degraded to the extent that they do not want to be compromised by remaining as members of the commission.
The Asian Human Rights Commission calls for the President to request that the two members who have resigned provide a detailed report concerning all of their grievances within the shortest possible time and to table this report for the forthcoming cabinet meeting for discussion and appropriate action. We call upon the leader of the opposition and the opposition parties to act quickly and responsibly to sort this matter out and to urge the President and the government to reveal in full the circumstances presented by all the concerned parties. We also urge the President to withhold the acceptance of the resignations until a full review of these matters has been completed. If after receiving a full report from the two members, the President is satisfied with the gravity of the matters raised, he may, following consultation with the cabinet, refer the matter to parliament. The AHRC also urges the Bar Association of Sri Lanka to appoint one or more former Supreme Court judges to look into this matter and to provide recommendations for appropriate action to be taken by the association.
The last decades have been dark years for the administration of justice in Sri Lanka in all its areas. There have been many complaints relating to the administration of justice, but there has been no significant action taken to inquire into such matters. The resignation of the two judges offers a window of opportunity to enable this largely neglected area, which badly affects all aspects of life in the nation, to be given the attention it requires. If this opportunity is not taken with appropriate seriousness, it may be too late to take corrective action at a later stage.
