| by Anura
Karunatilake
( November 2, 2012, Colombo,
Sri Lanka Guardian) Intellectuals For Human Rights (IHR) vehemently condemns
the attempt of the government to impeach the chief justice Dr. Shirani
Bandaranayake. IHR strongly believe that this is a direct threat to the
independence of the judiciary and therefore the democracy. Independent
functioning and check and balance process of the executive, legislator and the
judiciary is the key to a democratic society. If the executive and the
legislator violate the independent functioning of the judiciary it will lead to
a totalitarian regime.
It is clear that there is a serious conflict
between the executive and the judiciary over certain government policies which
conflict with the constitution. The president and the government seem to expect
favourable decisions from the Supreme Court (SC) when matters that SC
interpretations are sought. The conflict started after recent supreme court
decisions were against the government's wish. The Divineguma Bill is the most
recent issue that the government up in arms against the SC.
At a meeting with the constituent parties of
the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) chaired by President Mahinda
Rajapaksa had decided to bring an impeachment motion against Chief Justice and
now it has been handed over to the Speaker. Hence, the impeachment is not of
certain individuals or not only against the Justice Bandaranayake in particular
but a clear showpiece of government attitude towards the judiciary. We, IHR
stress that whole processes specially, the objective of the impeachment is not
acceptable in any norms and urge the government to uphold the independence of
the judiciary.
( The Writer, General
Secretary, Intellectuals for Human Rights (IHR) )
