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 two Supreme Court Justices from the Commission, has serious implications for the preservation of the dignity, authority and independence of the judiciary.
First, the statement engages in a very negative personal characterization of the two justices. By implication it points to the fact that because of their insignificant value as justices their resignation is of no consequence. One justice is characterized as one who is nearing retirement. The other is described as one who has come to the Bench directly from academia without experience at the Bar and is also in the habit of frequently resigning from official bodies. We do recognize the value of fair criticism of members of the judiciary. However, in this instance, the statement attempts to deflect public attention from the crisis caused by the resignations through unwarranted personal characterizations of justices. We see no link between those characterizations and the crisis facing the JSC. The use of such unbecoming methods brings the judiciary to ridicule and also defeats the right of the public to be informed of the real reasons that precipitated the crisis.
Secondly, the statement clearly suggests that, as a rule, academics do not have a place in the higher judiciary. We take serious issue with that position. We are of the opinion that the appointment of eminently qualified academics to the higher judiciary would enrich the development of jurisprudence of the appellate courts and therefore serves the public well. Indeed, international best practice is that an appellate court or constitutional court should be representative and include persons from diverse backgrounds and experiences.
Finally, we express our grave concern by the statement attributed to the Chief Justice that the “two vacancies in the Judicial Service Commission will be filled by the next two most senior judges of the Supreme Court”. According to the Constitution, the members of the Judicial Service Commission shall be the Chief Justice and two judges of the Supreme Court appointed by the President with the approval of the Constitutional Council and not the Chief Justice. The Constitutional Council which should have been reconstituted early last year has regrettably still not been constituted. This too has serious implications for the supremacy of the constitution and the Rule of Law.
We request the Secretary of the JSC or for that matter any other official or institution to act in a responsible and dignified manner recognizing the crucial importance of preserving the dignity and the independence of the judiciary in a democracy.
24 February 2006
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