Judicial system

In the mid-1930s, Stalin staged several trials that are now known as Moscow Show Trials. The similarities and dissimilarities between them and the “trial by PSC” are as follows. 1.    Stalin’s trials had a façade of justice, in that they were conducted in a court by a judge and prosecutor, and it was an open […]

In Yangon, I have been meeting many persons with long stories to share. Some of those whom we have met are the daughter of the first Prime Minister of Burma, who has returned after 35 years of exile in India.  I also met political activists released from prison after 22, 17 and 5 years. The […]

Yesterday the Supreme Court in a carefully worded order made a request of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) inquiring into the impeachment not to proceed with their inquiry until the Supreme Court made a determination on the reference made to it by the Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court referred to the good relations that […]

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 […]

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 Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA), the Commonwealth Legal Education Association (CLEA) and the Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association (CMJA) are concerned about the recent motion in the Sri Lankan Parliament to proceed with the impeachment of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake The existence of an independent and impartial judiciary is one of the cardinal features of […]

(Hong Kong, November 20, 2012) A prominent human rights lawyer who had lost his licence for political reasons among 32 on whose behalf the Asian Human Rights Commission has been campaigning for three years has been informed that he can now again practice law. In a letter dated November 11, the Supreme Court informed U […]

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 […]

Lawyers for Democracy (LfD), raises serious concerns with the process that has commenced to impeach the Chief Justice of Sri Lanka, Hon. Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake. The impeachment follows in the wake of several other attempts in recent times to interfere and intimidate the judiciary, most recent incident being the attack against the Secretary of the […]

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 […]

No questioning arises from subservient lips”. Andrée Chedid (For Rushdie) Ideally Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranaike would have prevented her husband from accepting Rajapaksa largesse; ideally. Ideally, the Supreme Court would have resisted the 18th Amendment; ideally. Ideally the term-limit provision would be in place and a post-Rajapaksa future just five years away; ideally. But as […]

In May 1993, a UN sponsored election was held in Cambodia to elect a government. The country had faced a civil war after Polpot’s catastrophic revolution. At the time, a large part of the country was under the State of Cambodia, of which Hun Sen was the head. His party was one of the two […]

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma today expressed concern about the recent move by the Parliament of Sri Lanka to impeach the country’s Chief Justice, Dr Shirani Bandaranayake. Speaking in London, the Secretary-General said: “The Commonwealth’s principal consideration is that the provisions of Sri Lanka’s constitution are upheld with regards to the removal of judges, respecting the […]

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 […]

The impeachment is not about the individual that is Shriyani Bandaranayake, the Chief Justice. The real issue is about ending the position of the judiciary as a separate branch of the state. What is now being faced is a momentous transformation of the very structure of governance in Sri Lanka. It is the final completion […]

An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission to the Judges of Sri Lanka Honourable Judges: I am writing on behalf of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) under extraordinary circumstances as the gravity of the issues involved compels me to do so. The issue that I wish to seek your attention is the […]

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, […]

When I talked to a Sri Lankan friend about the killings of prisoners which happened yesterday and tried to convince him that people should demand justice, his instance reply was, “ Dhang justice naah” (now there is no justice) . In the past, this expression meant that there were serious concerns about justice. However, now it […]

Basil Fernando Humankind has at least a few millenniums of experience in keeping prisons. It is part of the unfortunate predicament of humanity that there is this need to have prisons. However, over these long years, through bitter experiences, humanity has learned to lessen the suffering involved for the inmates of prisons and to make […]