Forwarded Statement

Press Statement On the Conviction of Mr. Somyot Prueksakasemsuk The Bangkok Criminal Court read a verdict on the Black Case no. O1952/2554 on 23 January 2013 between the public prosecutors v Mr. Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, a defendant in an offence against the Penal Code’s Article 112 (lèse majesté). Mr. Somyot was accused of publishing, distributing and […]

On 14th January, around 7 pm the Secretary to the President and DIG Anura Senanyaka required the Registrar of the Supreme Court to pack all belongings of the Chief Justice (Dr. Bandarayaka) and send the same to her residence. He had also been told that the new Chief Justice would  arrive on the following day […]

The appointment of former Attorney General Mohan Peiris as Sri Lanka’s new Chief Justice raises serious concerns about the future of the Rule of Law and accountability in the country, the ICJ said today (January 15). Mohan Peiris has served in a variety of high-level legal posts in the past decade, always playing a key […]

I am the 43rd Chief Justice of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. As the Chief Justice, I have an obligation and an unwavering duty towards the judges, lawyers and the citizens at large of my country. I stand here before you today having been unjustly persecuted, vilified and condemned. The treatment meted out […]

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma today expressed deep disappointment at the dismissal of the Chief Justice of Sri Lanka. The Secretary-General recalled his earlier statements about this matter, in particular his statement following the decision by Parliament on 11 January to impeach the Chief Justice, in which he had urged the Executive to pause and reflect […]

A Statement from the Lawyers Collective, Sri Lanka, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission H.E President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s purported letter of removal has been received by the Chief Justice. The Lawyers Collective states that this removal affects the very foundation of independence of the Judiciary, the Rule of Law and all basic norms of […]

A Statement from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission SRI LANKA/ SAUDI ARABIA: UN expressed deep dismay on the execution of Rizana Nafeek We express our deep dismay at the execution of a young Sri Lankan woman in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. Rizana Nafeek, who arrived in […]

We note with grave concern that the Sri Lankan Parliament has decided to remove the Chief Justice of the country through a Parliamentary Select Committee, in contravention of a Constitutional determination by the Sri Lankan Supreme Court. The Court had determined that such a decision could only have been constitutionally taken through an Act of […]

The International Commission against the Death Penalty (ICDP) condemns today’s execution of Rizana Nafeek, a Sri Lankan housemaid, in Saudi Arabia. She was beheaded in Dawadmi province near Riyadh. Rizana, a teenage domestic worker, was condemned to death after a four-month-old baby boy she was bottle-feeding choked and died in 2005. According to her birth […]

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka strongly, unequivocally and with no reservations whatsoever condemns the decision to take up for debate the impeachment motion against her Ladyship the Chief Justice Dr. Shirani A. Bandaranayake based on the findings of the Parliamentary Select Committee which was quashed by the Court of Appeal and determined to be […]

Kindly see below link to a petition relating to the Government proposal to impeach Chief Justice based on PSC report which is illegal in terms of the judgment of the Supreme Court issued as an opinion to the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka. Kindly see full judgment at here Kindly click here to sign the petition There’s […]

The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC) is concerned at the circumstances surrounding the impeachment of the Chief Justice of Sri Lanka, Shirani Bandaranayake, and at reports of attacks against the judiciary and the legal profession within Sri Lanka. The independence of the judiciary and the rule of law  The independence of […]

Dear All Judicial Service Association (JSA), the association of the judges of the original court, had organised the Annual Judges Conference, sponsored by the UNDP — under the  Equal Access to Justice Programme, which is scheduled for 21 and 22nd of December 2012. This programme comes under the Ministry of Languages and Social Intrigration (Hon. […]

We, the undersigned note with extreme concern, the proceedings related to the impeachment hearing of the first woman Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Banadaranayake by the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC). Any hearing, regardless of the person, must adhere to principles of natural justice and rule of law. In the case of the Chief Justice all those […]

At the outset, we endorse wholeheartedly the appeal of the four Mahanayake Theros to the President to set aside the impeachment motion brought against the Chief Justice. It is a matter of grave concern to the people of the country that the Government through the accusations levelled against Chief Justice seem to have convinced itself […]

Next week, the Criminal Court will resume its schedule on Somyot’s case on 19 December 2012 after it has been delayed for three months without informed explanation. Prior to this, the Constitutional Court also ruled that Article 112 is not against the constitutionality. Both information made the lawyer as well as the family grave concerns […]

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following statement issued by the Judicial Service Association (JSA) of Sri Lanka on the Findings of the Parliamentary Select Committee which probed the allegations of misbehavior of the Chief Justice of Sri Lanka.. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Statement from Judicial Service Association […]

The Lawyers Collective calls upon the public not to be misled by the shameless, malicious and false propaganda of the State Media on the Impeachment of Chief Justice. There are constant false and insulting contents in the Lake House newspapers and broadcasts over SLBC, ITN and Rupavahini Corporation, all of which are being used as […]

A Statement of Concern by the Women’s Action Network Womens Action Network (WAN), as a collective of 11 women’s groups from the North and the East, is deeply concerned by the recent efforts to recruit women into the military in the districts of Killinochchi and Mullaitheevu. Post-war development has failed to provide the most basic […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward you the following statement from the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ———————— A Statement from the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) SRI LANKA: Chief Justice’s impeachment hearing violates due process […]