(
October 11, 2012, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Members of the Kegalle Lawyers’ Association categorically
condemn the brutal assault on and intimidation of Mr. Manjula Tilakaratne,
Secretary, Judicial Service Commission, with extreme disgust.
It
is in this backdrop, the Members of the Kegalle
Lawyers’ Association passed a Resolution at the Emergency Meeting held on 08th
October 2012 at the Kegalle Law Library, unanimously and unreservedly
condemning this unprecedented and outrageous pressure and persecution.
We
also condemn the various forms of threats, intimidation and attempts to influence upon the Judiciary,
with the contempt it deserves.
They
expressed their unequivocal solidarity and unconditional trust and confidence
in the present Judiciary and particularly Her Ladyship the Chief Justice and
other Honourable Members of the Judicial Service Commission.
We
re-firm our belief in a free and independent Judiciary; Separation
of Powers; and the Rule of Law.
The
Lawyers said that, they believed in the dire need to safeguard the safety of
the Judiciary, a quintessential organ even in a most rudimentary Democracy; and
also in the pivotal need to protect
the independence of the judiciary and to allow the same to discharge its
service without being intimidated by influences, threats or undue criticism.
We
believe in the fundamental right of every citizen to engage in any profession, Industry or trade and also
believe in the right of every Government
servant to discharge his or her duties without fear
or favour.
They
unanimously condemned the reported unjustifiable attacks on the Judiciary, the
Judicial Service Commission and their respective Members by certain Media
Institutions and personnel and highlight the need to respect the Law of the
land as well as human dignity and decorum and the solemn need to seek solace of
the amply available provisions of the law rather than engaging in vile, vicious
and vituperative personal slanders and obloquy.
We
urge all authorities concerned to swiftly and diligently investigate this dastardly act; to bring the
offenders to Justice; and to ensure a non- recurrence of such ugly
incidents.
They
resolved to call upon the President and the Government of Sri Lanka to, respect
the independence of the Judiciary and to implement the much delayed provisions
of the 17th Amendment to establish the much needed Independent
Commissions.
They also called upon
the Hon. Attorney General and the Inspector General of Police (I.G.P) to ensure
the personal safety of all Members of the Judiciary, to be vigilant and to take
prompt legal action against anyone irrespective of their colour or calibre for
any attempts to bring harm/ defame them in any way, whatsoever.
They
re-affirmed their unanimous solidarity with the Judicial Service Commission as
well as all the members of the Judiciary of the Island and assure of their
cooperation and contribution towards any action as members of the Legal
Profession to condemn any attempts to thwart the hitherto holy system into a
mockery; to bring the culprits to justice; to uphold the integrity,
independence and impartiality of the judiciary; and to ensure a non-recurrence
of this nature.
We, the Members of the Kegalle Lawyers’ Association
call upon all the Members of the Legal
fraternity to condemn this lurid act and to unite as professionals to preserve the right of every citizen
to a just and a fair judicial system
and all the integral values of a functioning democracy.
THE
RESOLUTION:
The
Members of the Kegalle Lawyers’ Association unanimously passed the following
Resolution at the Emergency Meeting held on 09th October 2012 at the Kegalle
Law Library:
We,
the Members of the Kegalle Lawyers’ Association unanimously condemn the brutal
assault on/and intimidation of Mr. Manjula Tilakaratne, Secretary, Judicial
Service Commission, with extreme disgust.
We
also condemn the various forms of threats, intimidation and attempts to
influence upon the Judiciary, with the contempt it deserves.
We
re-firm our belief in a free and independent Judiciary; Separation of Powers; and the Rule of Law.
We
believe in the fundamental right of every citizen to engage in any profession,
Industry or trade and also believe in the right of every Government servant to
discharge his or her duties without fear or favour.
We
reiterate our firm belief in the dire need to safeguard the safety of the
Judiciary, a quintessential organ of even in a most rudimentary Democracy, and
express our unequivocal solidarity with and our unconditional trust and
confidence in the present Judiciary and particularly Her Ladyship the Chief
Justice and other Honourable Members of the Judicial Service Commission.
We
re- affirm our firm belief in the pivotal need to protect the independence of the judiciary and to
allow the same to discharge its service without being intimidated by
influences, threats or undue criticism.
We once again unanimously condemn the reported
unjustifiable attacks on the Judiciary, the Judicial Service Commission and
their respective Members by certain Media Institutions and personnel and
highlight the need to respect the Law of the land as well as human dignity and
decorum; and the solemn need to seek solace of the amply available provisions
of the law rather than engaging in vile, vicious and vituperative personal
slanders and obloquy.
We
urge all authorities concerned to swiftly and diligently investigate this
dastardly act; to bring the offenders to Justice; and to ensure a non-
recurrence of such ugly incidents.
We also call upon the Hon. Attorney General
and the Inspector General of Police (I.G.P) to ensure the personal safety of
all Members of the Judiciary and to take prompt legal action against anyone
irrespective of their colour or calibre for any attempts to bring harm on / defame
them in any way, whatsoever.
We
re-affirm our unanimous solidarity with the Judicial Service Commission as well
as all the members of the Judiciary of the Island and assure of our cooperation
and contribution towards any action as members of the Legal Profession to
condemn any attempts to thwart the hitherto holy system into a mockery; to
bring the culprits to justice; to uphold the integrity, independence and
impartiality of the judiciary; and to ensure a non-recurrence of this nature.
We,
the Members of the Kegalle Lawyers’ Association call upon all the Members of
the Legal fraternity to condemn this lurid act and to unite as professionals to
preserve the right of every citizen to a just and a fair judicial system and
all the integral values of a functioning democracy.
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