| A Statement issued
by the commonwealth legal Associations
( December 14,
2012, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) Further to our statement
of 19 November 2012, the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA), the Commonwealth
Legal Education Association (CLEA) and the Commonwealth Magistrates’ and
Judges’ Association (CMJA) are concerned about the developments surrounding the
impeachment of the Sri Lankan Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake.
Sri Lanka, as a
member of the Commonwealth, is expected to adhere to the fundamental values and
principles of the Commonwealth which includes the provision of an independent
and impartial judiciary that can only be removed by proper process on grounds
of incapacity or gross misconduct.
In monitoring
reports of the impeachment proceedings the Associations are very concerned that
The Commonwealth (Latimer House) Principles on the Accountability of and the
Relationship between the Three Branches of Government (2003), have been ignored
and that as a result the judiciary and the Rule of Law have been severely
damaged.
We endorse the
Statement made by the International Commission of Jurists on 6 December 2012
and have made representations to the Commonwealth Secretariat General on this
issue as well as the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and
Lawyers and note the Commonwealth Secretary General’s statement of 12 December
2012.
The President of
the CMJA stated that: “The independence of the judiciary is a fundamental principle
supporting the rule of law. By its arbitrary actions, and its failure to follow
even its own constitutional safeguards for the removal of judges, the Sri
Lankan Parliament has seriously undermined that principle and called into
question its adherence to the shared values of the Commonwealth."
The Associations
urge the Government and Parliament of Sri Lanka to respect the independence of
the judiciary and in particular to comply with its constitutional safeguards
and the Commonwealth Latimer House Principles and international standards.
Commonwealth
Lawyers Association (CLA)
Commonwealth Legal
Education Association (CLEA)
Commonwealth
Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association (CMJA)
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