Judicial system

Romesh de Silva PC is one of the topmost lawyers in Sri Lanka, a former president of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka. He led the legal team which represented Dr. Shirani Bandaranayaka (CJ) in all forums during the impeachment saga. Jayampathi Wickremarathna PC, who was formerly the senior consultant in the Constitutional Affairs Ministry […]

The political frictions generating from the overreach of the Supreme Court will be far more damaging to Pakistan and its people than any gains which may be made during the investigations under the supervision of the Supreme Court The statement of the Asian Human Rights Commission on the orders of the Supreme Court for the arrest of […]

“Nothing’s ever gone too far. Anything can be reversed; these are human decisions.”  – Noam Chomsky (An interview with the Al Jazeera- Jan 12 ) President Rajapaksa does what he wishes to do. That should not surprise us as this is simply who he is. He impeached the Chief Justice saying that the law was […]

Fr. Tissa Balasuriya OMI, a Sri Lankan Catholic priest who once came to the attention of the world due to his excommunication by Rome which was later lifted, passed away yesterday in Colombo. He had been unwell for some time and was 89 years of age at the time of his death. He was a […]

An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission to the chairpersons of four parliamentary committees Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Chairwoman, Pyithu Hluttaw Rule of Law & Tranquillity Committee Thura U Aung Ko Chairman, Pyithu Hluttaw Judicial & Legal Affairs Committee U Aung Nyein Chairman, Amyotha Hluttaw Public Complaints & Petitions Committee Dr Aye […]

15 January 2013, 6:03 am We, the undersigned, condemn in the strongest terms the beheading of Rizana Nafeek, the Sri Lankan domestic migrant worker convicted aged 17 in 2005, for the accidental death of an infant, in Saudi Arabia on the morning of 09 January 2013. We are shocked at the decision of Saudi Arabia’s […]

In a surprising move, the Chief Justice of Pakistan has directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to arrest the Prime Minister of Pakistan in the Rental Power Projects Cases HRC No: 7734G of 2009. On 15.01.2013 the Supreme Court of Pakistan over reached its judicial power and all boundaries of its jurisdiction. The court, once […]

On January 15, the Supreme Court of the Philippines (SC) heard oral arguments questioning the constitutionality of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 and its conformity to international norms and standards. The Cybercrime Prevention Act is one of the many unprecedented pieces of legislation in the Philippines in recent years. The Cybercrime Law is expected […]

With the law, the legal institutions and the courts diminishing in value secret agencies are surfacing quite openly once again. The presence of the military and the police the night before Mohan Peiris was sworn in as chief justice and also during the day itself and the ferocious manner in which the Chief Justice, Dr. […]

On 14th January, around 7 pm the Secretary to the President and DIG Anura Senanyaka required the Registrar of the Supreme Court to pack all belongings of the Chief Justice (Dr. Bandarayaka) and send the same to her residence. He had also been told that the new Chief Justice would  arrive on the following day […]

The appointment of former Attorney General Mohan Peiris as Sri Lanka’s new Chief Justice raises serious concerns about the future of the Rule of Law and accountability in the country, the ICJ said today (January 15). Mohan Peiris has served in a variety of high-level legal posts in the past decade, always playing a key […]

I am the 43rd Chief Justice of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. As the Chief Justice, I have an obligation and an unwavering duty towards the judges, lawyers and the citizens at large of my country. I stand here before you today having been unjustly persecuted, vilified and condemned. The treatment meted out […]

This morning, according to reports, the main gates leading to the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka remained closed and heavily guarded in order to prevent the Chief Justice, Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake from entering in order to continue to function as the legitimate holder of the post of Chief Justice. She has rejected the ouster by […]

(Note: We reproduce below the text of the letter written to the UN High Commissioner and the President of Sri Lanka requesting to cause an inquiry into the verdict and the execution of Rizana Nafeek who was executed in Saudi Arabia on January 9.) The AHRC requests all concerned persons to write to the UN […]

At 2pm today, the Philippines Supreme Court will hear petitions challenging the Constitutionality of the newly approved law, Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10175). The law was approved in September 12, 2012, but the SC issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) after petitions were filed questioning the conformity of the law to the […]

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma today expressed deep disappointment at the dismissal of the Chief Justice of Sri Lanka. The Secretary-General recalled his earlier statements about this matter, in particular his statement following the decision by Parliament on 11 January to impeach the Chief Justice, in which he had urged the Executive to pause and reflect […]

Stephen Harper today issued the following statement regarding the dismissal of Sri Lankan Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake: “Canada is deeply concerned by Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa’s decision to remove the Chief Justice from office following an impeachment process which appeared to be highly politicized and lacking transparency and respect for the guarantees of due process […]

It has been reported that the name of Mohan Peiris has been proposed as one of the names for the office of Chief Justice by the Sri Lankan government. If the role of the chief justice is to be that of a stooge of the government perhaps there is hardly anyone more suited to the […]

The ensuing debates after the rape in Delhi has thrown up several opinions, some poignantly valid and others ridiculous, about what changes are to be made to the criminal justice process to effectively address the scornful menace of rape and forms of sexual violence in India. An alarmingly large proportion of the population, if the […]

We note with grave concern that the Sri Lankan Parliament has decided to remove the Chief Justice of the country through a Parliamentary Select Committee, in contravention of a Constitutional determination by the Sri Lankan Supreme Court. The Court had determined that such a decision could only have been constitutionally taken through an Act of […]