Judicial system

Today, 10 December 2012 — International Human Rights Day (IHRD) —  the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) calls for all Cambodians and donors alike to stand up for human rights in Cambodia.  In light of the alarming deterioration of human rights since the start of 2012, today is an opportunity for poignant reflection and […]

According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted and proclaimed on 10 December 1948, the Human Rights Day presents an opportunity, every year, to celebrate human rights, highlight a specific issue and advocate for the full enjoyment of all human rights by everyone everywhere. The day is observed every year to ensure the […]

Next Saturday, the Bar Association will meet to discuss the resolution of non-cooperation with anyone who may be chosen to be the next Chief Justice in the event that the incumbent Chief Justice is impeached. While that matter is being considered, a question may also be asked as to whether any person with integrity and […]

The letter written by the senior and well-respected lawyer SL Gunasekara provides a very thought-provoking approach to dealing with the present impasse created by the government’s wish to proceed with the impeachment against the Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, which they are doing irrespective of the request made by the Supreme Court to delay proceedings on […]

Yesterday (6th December) Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake and her legal team walked away from the PSC inquiry after clearly stating that she had no faith in it. Subsequently, she has written to the Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa through her lawyers and clearly set out that the PSC does not qualify in terms of the constitutional requirements […]

(Hong Kong, December 6, 2012) We are happy to announce the publication of an E-Book which is a collection of documents and articles. The motion for the impeachment of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake has caused the most important constitutional crisis experienced in Sri Lanka in the recent decades. Please see the E-Book here. This is the […]

Today the Chief Justice of Sri Lanka Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake walked out of the Parliamentary Select Committee in protest in the face of hostile and biased conduct of the government members of the PSC so as to ensure the dignity of the judiciary of Sri Lanka. The Chief Justice reiterates that she is innocent of […]

It is clear by now that the attempted impeachment is being done in a completely lawless manner. The present approach adopted for the inquiry is no different to a committee consisting of a man’s enemies being assigned to conduct a murder trial against him. Regardless of the man’s guilt or innocence, the enemies will ensure […]

We call upon the people, in particular the judges and lawyers, to grasp the historic significance of this moment It is news now that the Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake and her legal team, led by Romesh De Silva PC, walked away from the Parliamentary Select Committee proceedings, expressing no confidence in the manner in which […]

The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) inquiring into the allegations against the Chief Justice, Dr Shirani Bandaranayake in a surprising and shocking move informed her that during this inquiry no witnesses would be produced and therefore there would be no room for cross examination. An ‘inquiry’ without witnesses naturally cannot be an inquiry at all. The […]

In a landmark ruling, a court in Burma has rejected the police version of events that led to the death of a man in their custody, and has opened the door to a charge of murder to be brought against the officers involved. In its findings of 9 November 2012, a copy of which the […]

According to reports, the Chief Justice (CJ) through her lawyers have informed the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) that she wishes to waive the right to have the impeachment proceedings in-camera and instead wishes the inquiry to be open to the public. The Rajapaksa government has used every opportunity to make their allegations against the CJ […]

The future of a judge who would have been the longest serving Chief Justice of the nation is grim in Sri Lanka. Widely alleged as politically motivated, the current move by the President to impeach her gives an opportunity to analyze the soundness of constitutional principles relating to judiciary in general and impeachment of judges […]

The impeachment of the Chief Justice which was staged as a farce has now turned into a blatant witch hunt where the government is shamelessly mobilising taxi drivers and other mobs to call for the resignation of the Chief Justice. Today was declared by the lawyers a day of protest against the impeachment process which […]

Standing orders protect the judge during proceedings of the PSC and if found guilty, then the proceedings would be published. Otherwise it will not be published (Standing Order 78A(8)). The purpose of this protection is to protect the judge against unfair allegations etc. However, the Standing Orders do not prohibit the waiver of that right […]

No influence from the politician to judicial system and independence to judicial system Rev/ Your Excellency/ Dear Sir/ Madam, You are aware, that a notice of an impeachment resolution signed by approximately 117 Hon members of parliament has been submitted to the Hon the speaker of parliament, against the Hon Chief Justice of Sri Lanka. […]

Noting with grave concern that the impeachment proceedings initiated against Her Ladyship the Chief Justice would inevitably lead to an irreparable loss of confidence and public respect of the judicial system as a whole which in turn would further deteriorate the state of governance of the country. Noting in particular as lawyers from the North and East […]

The Speaker’s ruling relating to the Supreme Court’s notice to the Speaker and the members of the Parliamentary Select Committee does not in any way prohibits the constitutional right of the Court to entertain and to determine the Reference made by the Court of Appeal for a specific question relating to the scope of Article […]

This week, a committed New Delhi based civil rights advocate and incidentally a good friend, observed in a dispassionate aside to an otherwise entirely different conversation in that country that ‘this situation that Sri Lankans are facing regarding the political impeachment of the Chief Justice is quite alien for us to grasp here, even in […]

Today, the federal Ministry for Human Rights arranged an inter-ministerial meeting to discuss the proposed law against torture and custodial death. The proposed draft of the law was submitted by the Asian Human Rights Commission and Anti Torture Alliance Pakistan, with the consent of the Karachi Bar Association, Karachi Union of Journalists, Karachi Press Club, […]