Judicial system

We are bringing to your notice a news item that has appeared in several papers recently regarding a girl of 18 years who is said to be a victim of the tsunami tragedy and who, for the lack of any suitable child care institution, has been put in a prison as there is nowhere else […]

Speaking at the induction of the President Elect of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka during its 32nd Annual Convocation, the Chief Justice of Sri Lanka warned that the judiciary could become a laughing stock and that delays in adjudication may result in people seeking alternative means of justice. These delays were an apparent reference […]

Today, March 30, 2006 the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has nominated three outstanding widows of human rights defenders to receive jointly the prestigious 2006 , awarded by the May 18 Memorial Foundation, Korea. The three are: Angkhana Neelaphaijit, wife of disappeared Thai human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit; Suciwati Munir, wife of murdered Indonesian human […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AS-033-2006 March 6, 2006 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)  SRI LANKA: Delays in courts – everyone’s karume The expression by a High Court judge at Hulftsdorp that it was due to his karume (karma) that he had to be a judge postponing cases is a rare admission of […]

The Law Faculty Teachers’ Union of the University of Colombo expresses its deep concern over a statement issued by the Secretary to the Judicial Service Commission published in the Daily News on 6 February, 2006 under the heading “JSC Will Continue to Function Despite Judges’ Resignation”. The statement, which is on the recent resignation of […]

The resignation of two judges from the three-member Judicial Service Commission (JSC) continues to be a matter of topmost public interest. Comments made by numerous persons reflecting different points of view with regard to the resignations are reflected in both the print and electronic media.  The majority of the views expressed tend to support the […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission welcomes the landmark ruling by the Supreme Court of Nepal on Monday February 13, 2006, which declared the controversial Royal Commission for Corruption Control (RCCC) unconstitutional and ordered it to be scrapped immediately. This has paved the way for the release of ousted Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who had […]

Background: Dr Chee Soon Juan, secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic Party, was sued in 2002 by former Singapore prime ministers Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Mr Goh Chok Tong for defamation. The courts awarded the case to the plaintiffs and ordered Dr Chee to pay $500,000 in damages. Messrs Lee and Goh then took legal […]

Several senior members of the opposition United National Party (UNP) have issued statements expressing concern over the resignation of two judges from the three member Judicial Service Commission and requesting that a parliamentary select committee should be constituted to inquiry into such a significant event relating to the administration of justice in the country.  However, […]

North of Bangkok, the Angthong Provincial Court this morning found a farmer guilty of running an illegal community radio station. Sathien Janthorn was given a suspended jail term of six months and fined 60,000 Thai baht (USD 1500) for having broadcast from a community radio transmitter that was paid for by the Finance Ministry, through […]

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has recently secured a pardon for opposition leader Sam Rainsy and his colleague Cheam Channy, who were respectively given a jail sentence of 18 months for alleged defamation and seven years for allegedly organising an illegal army. He has promised to restore their parliamentary immunity. He has also withdrawn his […]

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. […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission has today learnt that two of the three members of the Judicial Service Commission of Sri Lanka have resigned their posts as continuing to hold them would be incompatible with their consciences. The two are senior Supreme Court judges Shiranee Bandaranayaka and T B Veerasuriya. The third remaining member and […]

[RE: UP-013-2006: BANGLADESH: Three persons tortured by the Chapainawabganj police; UA-041-2006: BANGLADESH: Eight people killed and at least one hundred injured by police fire in Chapainawabganj district; UA-013-2006: BANGLADESH: Two people killed and thirty-five injured by police fire in Chapainawabganj district] ———————————– UP-016-2006: BANGLADESH: Three detained and tortured leaders have been released from prison in […]

[RE: FA-06-2004: THAILAND: A human rights lawyer Mr. Somchai Neelaphaijit missing… UP-20-2005: THAILAND: Human rights lawyer still missing after nearly one year; Action needed today to have case transferred; UP-24-2005: THAILAND: Thai minister refuses to act on missing human rights lawyer case; UP-37-2005: Thai PM orders action on missing human rights lawyer, while court hears […]

This February 1, 2006, the case of Ma Su Su Nwe will come before the Supreme Court of Burma. The court will be asked to decide whether or not to admit an appeal against Su Su Nwe’s imprisonment on charges of having abused and intimidated members of a local government council. In effect the court […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from MASUM, a local human rights organisation in West Bengal, India about the shocking state of the lower judiciary in West Bengal. The AHRC issued an urgent appeal on 26 December 2005 regarding the arrest of Mr Vijay Kumar. For further details please see UA-247-2005. […]

The Criminal Court in Bangkok on January 12 found that missing Thai human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit had been abducted and that a police officer was among a group of persons, all suspected to be police, who were responsible. The prime minister subsequently said that Somchai has been murdered, and insisted that the Department of […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the People’s Vigilance Committee for Human Rights (PVCHR), a local human rights group working in Uttar Pradesh, India stating that corrupt officers, particularly those from the local police, are conniving with the feudal landlords thereby facilitating extreme exploitation of the tribal community in […]

A strange notion prevails in Sri Lankan legal circles that presidential immunity extends even to constitutional violations. This is despite the fact that one of the grounds for the impeachment of a president is ‘intentional violations of the Constitution’, as set out in article 38(2) a(i). A judgment made by the Indian Supreme Court on […]