Judicial system

(Hong Kong, December 18, 2012) The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is publishing below a letter written in prison from Temogen “Cocoy” Tulawie. Tulawie is an indigenous human rights activist from Sulu, southern Mindanao, now in prison facing fabricated murder charges in Davao City. In his letter received by the AHRC, Tulawie asked that the people of […]

Two Australian experts, Laureate Professor Cheryl Saunders AO and Professor Adrienne Stone, Director, Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies, have submitted a paper at the request of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) based in Hong Kong explaining the requirements for the removal of judges in Australia. The AHRC has referred the paper to the lawyers […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is pleased that Leila de Lima, secretary of the Department of Justice (DoJ), has recommended to President Benigno Aquino III the granting of a “conditional pardon” to the Abadilla Five. The Abadilla Five: Lenido Lumanog, Augusto Santos, Cesar Fortuna, Joel and Rameses de Jesus, are serving terms of life […]

The Asian Human Right Commission has learned that there was an attempt at the life of Gunaratne Wanninayaka, the President of Colombo Magistrate’s Court Lawyer’s Association and the Convener of People’s March. He has played a very prominent role in fighting for the independence of the Bar for several years. He has actively participated against […]

The Lawyers Collective strongly condemns the assassination attempt on attorney-at-law Gunaratne Wanninayake and urges the Government to take all possible measures to prevent further such attacks. He is the convener of the Free March movement, a constituent group of the Lawyers Collective. The Lawyers Collective views with grave concern the continuing trend in instigating adverse […]

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 […]

Is the Constitution or the President’s conscience paramount in deciding the notion of legality in Sri Lanka? Abandoning the courts and the law books A person’s conscience is of course, variable.  A Presidential conscience cannot certainly be any different. In contrast, the very core of the concept known as the Rule of Law is its […]

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 […]

The full report will be available for download at http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2012/ahrc-spr-011-2012.pdf/view In previous annual reports, the Asian Human Rights Commission has documented Sri Lanka’s rapid fall into a dictatorship under the executive presidential system. This process has now been completed. There are violations written into the basic structure of its constitution, which was initially based on Sri […]

Tomorrow, December 15 will be a day that tests the will of the lawyers of Sri Lanka to defend their own profession and the independence of the judiciary in the country which is the foundation on which the legal profession stands. In more simple terms the resolution presented to the lawyers that they are to […]

Comments on the views of Rajpal Abeynayake and Nath Amarakoon on judicial review Basil Fernando The SLBC programme inappropriately entitled “People’s Power” is continuing with its misinformation campaign against basic principles of constitutionalism. On the programme that aired on the 13th of December, there were amusing misinterpretations of the constitutional history of the United States, […]

Professor Noam Chomsky is an Institute Professor and Professor (Emeritus) in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He was educated at the University of Philadelphia and at Harvard University as a Harvard Junior Fellow. He earned his PhD in Linguistics from the University of Philadelphia in 1955. He has […]

On the SLBC radio, in the mornings, there is a program that is inappropriately entitled “People’s Power.” It is just political stooge programming, which tries to take up some current issues and create justifications for government positions. It is a dull and boring presentation but, since some of the issues discussed and the interpretations given […]

President Mahinda Rajapaksa stated yesterday that he will initiate a review of the impeachment issue and that he will ensure an independent and fair inquiry. He said that his conscience is not at ease about the issue and that before he will act on the impeachment issue he will ensure that a group of independent […]

Notorious intelligence agencies have started a campaign against the nationalist groups of Sindh province in the effort to divert the national and international pressures on them and to provide intelligence reports on the activities of the religious fundamentalist groups who operate under the patronage of law enforcement agencies. In the past months the Taliban and […]

Share| When I was leaving Pakistan for Hong Kong, after a long trip to different countries, I received some shocking news at Karachi International Airport. Mr. Solangi, the Director General of Radio Pakistan informed me about the news that Malala Yousufzai had been attacked by the Taliban and was in critical condition. The doctors were […]

LAWASIA, the Law Association for Asia and the Pacific, has observed with considerable concern developments in Sri Lanka with regard to the impeachment of the Chief Justice. It notes the view of its member organisation, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, that the Parliamentary Select Committee appointed to investigate the charges was unconstitutional and that […]

Justice C. G. Weeramantry, former senior vice president of the International Court of Justice and the Senior Most Retired Judge in Sri Lanka, said yesterday it was essential that a tribunal deciding on the rights of any citizen must consist of persons who are totally uncommitted before the hearing. If any members of the tribunal […]