Judicial system

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 […]

The 18th Amendment to the Constitution, which ended all the debates and discussions on the 17th Amendment, brought an end to all independent public institutions in Sri Lanka. From that point on, only one institution remained outside the complete control of the executive president. That was the judiciary. True, that institution itself had been seriously […]

The Sri Lankan government must immediately cease its assault on the independence of the judiciary, the International Commission of Jurists said in a new report released today. The 158-page report, Authority without Accountability: The Crisis of Impunity in Sri Lanka, documents how, and why, it has become nearly impossible for people who have suffered serious […]

After a series of attacks on the judiciary the Mahinda Rajapaksa government is now reported to be engaged in preparing papers for the impeachment of the Chief Justice (CJ). While the accusation against the CJ is not known the determination of the government to impeach her has been highly publicised. The state media have been […]

‘An independent judiciary functions as a critical institutional mechanism providing a check and balance on the executive and legislative branches of a democratic society. The independence of this organ is vital, not only to ensure that the judiciary is able to discharge its functions without fear or favour, but also to uphold public confidence in […]

The answer to that question is if the legislature can do whatever it likes, as it is becoming fashionable for some in Sri Lanka to say, it can also make such a declaration. The leader of the party that has the majority in parliament (even better if there is a two thirds majority), can order […]

The Mahinda Rajapaksa regime has resorted to the ugliest attack in Sri Lankan judicial history on the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice this week by using the state media as a slander machine and through employing the state media to introduce deliberately manufactured slanderous letters to the parliament solely with the purpose of abusing […]

Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government is now engaged in a ruthless attack on the Chief Justice, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and the independence of the judiciary in general. The immediate reason for the attacks is the Supreme Court decision against the Divineguma Bill and the JSC decision to take disciplinary action against a judicial officer alleged […]

On 7 October 2012 four persons attacked the Secretary to the Judicial Services Commission of Sri Lanka (JSC), Mr. Manjula Thilakaratne.  Thilakaratne is a senior high court judge. The Secretary, accompanied by his wife, had taken their son to drop him at the St. Thomas’ College gymnasium. After dropping his wife and son at the […]

ඔක්තොම්බර් 10, 2012 ආසියානු මානව හිමිකම් කොමිසම පසුගිය ඔක්තෝම්බර් 07 වැනි දින, මහා අධිකරණයේ හිටපු  විනිශ්චකාරවරයෙකු මෙන්ම  අධිකරණ සේවා කොමිසමේ ලේඛම් ධූරය දරණ  මංජුල තිලකරත්න මහතා පුද්ගලයින් සිව් දෙනෙකුගේ ප්රාහාරයට ලක් විය. ශාන්ත තෝමස් විදුලේ ගෘහස්ථක්රීතඩාංගණය වෙත තම පුතනුවන් සහ බ්රිඳ ගොඩ බැස්සීම සඳහා ලේඛම් වරයා එදින ගමන් කළේය. ඔහුගේ බ්රිඳ සහ පුතනුවන් එහි බැස්සවීමෙන් […]

(Hong Kong, October 10, 2012) The Asian Human Rights Commission today wrote a letter to Ms. Gabriella Knaul, the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers informing her of the attempted abduction and assault of Mrs. Manjula Tilakaratne, the secretary of the Judicial Service Commission of Sri Lanka. The AHRC stated that: The […]

We cordially invite you and your organization to the Public meeting organized by LfD to discuss the recent attacks on the Independence of the Judiciary. This Meeting is of significant importance for the Lawyers, Judiciary, media and ultimately for the Public. This is also intended to provide a forum for participants to discuss and learn […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) condemns the attack upon the Secretary of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) of Sri Lanka, Mr. Manjula Thilakarathne. It is reported that Thilakarathne, a senior High Court judge who was openly critical about the executive’s unwarranted control over the country’s judiciary. Unidentified persons have reportedly attacked Thilakarathne, stabbing him […]

This distress call is not from a sinking ship but from the supreme body that represents the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) of Sri Lanka, which is desperately stating that the independence of the judiciary is under threat from the executive. The Asian Human Rights Commission has for years warned that democracy in Sri Lanka is […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is not surprised by the government’s confrontation with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and the courts, as it is part of a consistent pattern that has been going on ever since the executive presidential system was established in 1978. The constitution was established in order to undermine the independence […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to bring to the attention of the Sri Lankan public that we have learned about the massive frauds relating to tampering with land titles and also other frauds by the misusing the criminal justice process by way of fabrication of charges. The incidents narrated hereunder would explain the […]

Last week we reported on three great protests taking place in Asia. We will now add a fourth from Pakistan where there was a worldwide protest against the charging of a 14-year-old girl, Rimsha, under the notorious blaspheme law. We can now briefly look at the partial results of these protests. In India the protestors at the […]

After 17 days of daring to stand in neck-deep water, the villagers who are protesting against the unjust compensation package offered for the Onkareshwar Dam in Madhya Pradesh is yet to receive any guaranteed assurances from their government. Yesterday, the Madhya Pradesh State Government has reportedly agreed to reduce the water level in the reservoir, […]

The villagers’ protest against the absence of reasonable settlement for the land and livelihood lost to the Omkareshwar and the Indira Sagar Dams in the Narmada Valley project has thus far fallen upon a blind and deaf government. The agitation, though has received wholehearted support from a section of the Indian civil society, has failed […]

(Hong Kong, September 05, 2012) “This is taking the Ghandhian method to the water. To be submerged in water continuously for so many days is more difficult, in fact, than fasting…” Mr. Basil Fernando, Director – Polices and Programmes said referring to the ongoing protest in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh, India by the villagers who lost […]