Statement

Daily life in Pakistan is today marred by terrorist attacks that range from bombings to shootings and execution-style killings. All these are taking place in an environment where the law enforcement agencies are helpless to intervene. Little in the way of investigation takes place and even when the identities of the perpetrators are known no […]

From the beginning of the executive presidential system, the most important threat to it was perceived to be the judiciary. With a four fifths majority in parliament, J.R. Jayawardene, the UNP leader, made sure that all his party members in the legislature surrendered their rights to him. He got this through undated letters of resignation […]

The Chief Justice of Sri Lanka, Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake, is facing impeachment in that country. Those who know the state of affairs in Sri Lanka, might have no doubt, that the impeachment is politically motivated. To justify the process, the government has levelled allegations of corruption against Justice Bandaranayake. The Constitution of Sri Lanka (Article […]

It is the Supreme Court that should have created the disciplinary process for judges. The executive or legislature should not have usurped the function of the judicial branch, which is an independent branch. The Standing Orders relating to impeachment of judges should only have been adopted on the advice and the approval of the Supreme […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission welcomes the release yesterday of a few dozen political detainees in the latest amnesty announced by the government of Burma, as well as the other initiatives contained in an official news release of 18 November 2002, in particular, those aimed at working closely with international agencies on human rights, including […]

In September 2012 the Supreme Court of the Philippines approved the transfer of the trial of Temogen ‘Cocoy’ Tulawie for murder charges from Davao City to Manila City; and at the time of writing he is now awaiting trial in Manila. Prior to this, in June 2011 the Supreme Court also granted the petition of […]

The political attack on the Chief Justice, which is in retaliation to some independent judgements given by the Supreme Court, is quite clearly an attempt to stop the Supreme Court judges doing what they are mandated to do. It is not just an attack on one person; it is an attack on the entire Supreme […]

The late Mr. A.C. Soyza (Bunty), a well-known criminal lawyer and the president of the Bar Association, was retained by a group of young, radical leftists, who had been charged for their political work. During the consultations in prepartion for the trial, Mr. Soyza used to chat with these young radicals. One of these young […]

Even the worst of criminals have a right to a fair trial before an independent judiciary. A judge in an impeachment proceeding in Sri Lanka does not have that right. Article 107 of the Constitution and the standing orders as they stand now preclude that right. Is the quality of citizenship of a judge of […]

Just weeks after the speech of the Foreign Minister at the UN Human Rights Council in which she explained that the government had placed a moratorium on death sentences since 2008, a condemn man was this morning executed by hanging. Mr. Hussain was an army soldier who was sentenced to death in 2009 for murdering […]

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Gabriela Knaul in a statement issued yesterday (November 14, 2012), stated that, “……the procedure for the removal of judges of the Supreme Court set out in article 107 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka allows the Parliament to exercise considerable control over the […]

Mr. Wali Khan Baber, a correspondent of a television channel, the Geo News, was shot dead on January 13, 2011 when he was going to home after performing his duty. He was prominent on the reporting of target killings, land grabbing and drug related issues. The case has been pending in the Anti Terrorist Court […]

The visit of President Obama to Cambodia between November 17-20 should be an occasion to ask some vital and serious questions regarding the commitment of the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and the international community on the issues of democracy, the rule of law and human rights. To be very blunt the […]

There was a period in the past when many rights including fair trial and the freedom of opinion and expression was heavily restricted by both authoritarian and military dictatorship governments. Those who attempted to enjoy such freedoms suffered from long periods of imprisonment in comparison with general criminal offences or even the death penalty. Constraints […]

Once again, the country’s judiciary has underlined the fact that there is something fundamentally wrong with the police in India. On 7 November, the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court, Justice Vikramajit Sen, while hearing a case said, “I never understand why the police always take the side of villains. Whether it is Haryana or Karnataka, […]

Yesterday (9th of October), at least 11 prisoners were gunned down and around 35 were injured by the STF. The shooting was carried out when the STF entered the Welikada prison for some inspections. (Photo Courtesy: Sunday Times, Sri Lanka) According to an eye witness, interviewed by the BBC Sinhala service, when some prisoners who […]

In yet another shocking revelation, private companies have been found to be engaged in stealing food earmarked for welfare schemes aimed at arresting malnutrition, the biggest ‘national shame’ according to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and ‘humiliation like none other’ according to President Pranab Mukherjee. The only thing that is more shocking than the revelation […]

Much has been made in recent times of the continued use in Burma of antiquated and anti-human rights laws from the country’s decades of military rule, as well as from the colonial era. While legislators discuss the amendment or revocation of some laws, and the issue is debated in the public domain, much less is […]

Under the present circumstances and under the 1978 constitution, when the president does not want the Chief Justice, the president just tells them to get out and go home. The way he does it is called impeachment proceedings. Once the president decides to file such proceedings – he has a two thirds majority in parliament […]

For the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on Pakistan, the country presented a four-year working report of how the government improved the state of human rights in Pakistan. Ms. Hina Rabbani Khar, the foreign minister leading the Pakistan delegation, presented the report to the UN. The UPR is a process in which the UN […]