Sri Lanka: The image of the office of the AG is destroyed!

by Vishwamithra

(March 15, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) As at present there are numerous reports published in the media about the degrading role played by the office of the Attorney General concerning certain high profile cases some of which are criminal (MP Kathriarachchi case, MP Duminda Silva Case, MP Cader case) and many others such as defending the 18th Amendment, which are not in the best interest of the country and the administration of justice.

Sri Lankan media reported heavily about the damage caused by these disgraceful acts committed by the incumbent AG Mohan Peiris and brought into the limelight of numerous views and opinions expressed by legal luminaries, politicians (both in the ruling party and the opposition), the intellectual community and the general public. Yet, it is observed that Mohan Peiris has been maintaining a deafening silence over these highly sensitive issues raised by the people who have brought the Rajapakse regime into power. The advisors of the Rajapakse regime, as usual may have taken these unhealthy developments lightly, but the fact remains that the damage caused to the government of Sri Lanka and its president in the international arena would be enormous and irreversible. The president seems to have failed to realise that he is allowing himself to be condemned by both national and international forces working against his administration for lack of transparency and accountability, especially in the legal sphere. It is observed that Mohan Peiris has been appointed to this high office without being subjected to public scrutiny or verifying his improper conduct as a lawyer in the private bar. In effect, Mohan Peiris has been successful in burying his stinking past under the carpet.

Then the president played into the hands his critics by bringing the Attorney General’s department under his firm grip. In a true democracy this would never have happened and the AG’s office would have been allowed to function independently. If the president had the desire to project his image as a ‘Mr Clean’ to the world at large this is the proper path he should have followed. As a consequence the opposition forces have already commenced calling the AG’s department a political entity and not identifying it as an independent body, protecting the interests of the people.

The information coming out of the AG’s department and the judiciary indicate that the man responsible for this fiasco, Mohan Peiris is being groomed to be ‘the Obedient CJ’ who would blindly standby any wrong committed by the government and thereby betray the sovereignty of the people. The whole exercise of bringing a subservient ‘lackey’ like Mohan Peries through the back door to the highest office of the Apex Court, disregarding legitimate expectations of the judges in the Supreme Court, that is widely considered as an insult to the intelligence of the independent judges in the Supreme Court, who are committed to uphold the rule of law.

It appears that Rajapakse regime continues to ignore the lessons that could be learnt from the on-going peoples’ uprisings against oppressive regimes in other parts of the world. The government must keep in mind that one of the major grievances of the people in those countries is the deterioration of the ‘independent judiciary’ and its failure to uphold the rule of law when the executive goes berserk. It is very likely that the failure of the AG’s department and the absence of the independence of judiciary in Sri Lanka may provide necessary fuel for the beginning of the loss of credibility of the Rajapakse regime in the eyes of national and international media.

It is interesting to note that most of the cases highlighted in the media also include a serious allegation on the conduct and integrity of Mohan Peiris in his capacity as the AG and also about the questionable role performed by him as a lawyer in the private bar. It has become a regular practice for the AG’s office under Mohan Peiris, to interfere in the administration of justice by entering nolle prosequi, withdrawing indictments. As cited above, most of the accused persons involving in these cases happened to be pro-government types, who have been effectively exonerated after antagonising and ridiculing both the judiciary and the concerned staff of the AG’s department.

In one particular case reported by electronic and print media concerning the conduct of Mohan Peiris, was a very serious charge brought under the Judicature Act. This charge had been lodged by a head of a Grade 1 Government Department, urging the removal of Mohan Peiris from the office of the Attorney-at-Law on the charges of misconduct, deception and lack of integrity. This charge which is reported to have been backed by an affidavit to the CJ has been strangely ignored by the Supreme Court for hitherto unknown reasons. It seems that if not for this fatal failure on the part of the CJ, Mohan Peiris would have been kicked out of the office for good, and Rajapakse regime and the judiciary would have been saved from this impending disaster and humiliation.

The media, the peoples’ watch-dog, has done their part and the CJ and other judges in the Supreme Court just cannot turn a blind eye to this all important issue that directly affects the person currently holding the office of the AG. The Rajapakse regime too cannot simply ignore the fact that the Mohan Peiris, the person who hold the office of the AG is a man whose integrity has been comprehensively challenged by the media with overwhelming evidence and continuing with such a man would definitely be destructive.

The role of the AG is abused by Mohan Peiris

It appears that Mohan Peiris has forgotten that he is required to perform a sacred duty as per his oath of affirmation to the court than to the government. It is sad that Mohan Peiris is unconcerned about true meaning of the role of the AG, underlining his grave responsibility to withstand the undue political pressure. It is true that the AG is appointed by the president under the Constitution yet it is imperative that the AG is under duty to decline politically motivated wrong orders of any kind that affect the peoples’ sovereignty.

The norm is that the person who holds the office of the AG represents and acts for the people who are vested with both executive and legislative power that are being assigned to the executive, the AG and judiciary. Therefore, each and every action of the AG should always be for and on behalf of the people. The public office of the AG is perceived as an uncommitted office preferring to the Supreme Court’s assistance untrammelled by any extraneous considerations, without the slightest hint of, he, being anything but impartial. This perception of independence of the AG in safeguarding the public interest has been emphasised by the judges in many decisions and in their own academic contributions and writings. Maintaining this delicate balance of being in the Government i.e. of its Chief Legal Advisor and yet robustly independent has also been subject to lengthy discussions by many legal luminaries. However, Mohan Peiris seems to be totally unconcerned of these accepted principles and behaves in a punch-drunk state as he is so greedily attached to the office of the AG which is set to catapult him to the office of the Chief Justice with political blessings.

By conventions and law, the office of the AG is vested with special powers which include determining whether a case against an individual should be continued or withdrawn. This action should be purely based on the professional judgement of the AG with no outside influence. The AG is answerable to the parliament about all his decisions. The raising of these issues in the parliament is a matter for the elected MPs. Their failure to do so only demonstrates the quality of the present-day MPs that include individuals with murder charges, actors and actresses, sportsmen and women, members of the business mafia who are endowed with no insight or moral excellence or righteousness at all. There is only a handful of MPs who do not fall into this category but yet keep their silence for some strange and unknown reasons.

The preserving of the independence of the office thus becomes utmost important for the office of the AG. Secondly it is important to understand that the office of the AG has no political status. The person who holds the office of the AG is required to be a model to be copied by those members of the legal profession. The ‘high standing dignity and reputation’ demonstrated by the office of the AG naturally becomes an established norm of any transparent democracy. Finally the office of the AG is not subjected to any directions or interference from any person, unless directed by the Court of law.

Unfortunately for Sri Lanka and its people the role played by Mohan Peiris so far as AG shows that Mohan Peiris possesses none of these critical characteristics and is really a puppet that simply performs upon a pressing of a button by the government. He carries an ugly past and his actions only remind the truism that ‘mediocrity is the surest road to successes’. As discussed above it is an open secret that his main concern is to be the next Chief Justice even at the cost of tarnishing the image of the whole judiciary. It is crystal clear that Mohan Peiris has no concerns or respect for the other deserving judges in the Apex Court, whose legitimate expectations would be effectively denied by his determined battle for the office of the CJ.

Undoubtedly, the wrong precedence set up by the politically condemned CBK government by fast-tracking Sarath Silva from the Court of Appeal, through the office of the AG and then to the office of the CJ, has lured the Rajapakse regime to unashamedly follow suit. It is apparent that the government would simply make the Apex Court an irrelevant body in the administration of justice, by promoting Mohan Peiris to the office of the CJ, unless a decisive pressure is brought upon the government to rethink its strategy that would save both the government and the independence of the judiciary.