Rule of Law and the Judiciary
One of the three pillars of the modern democratic political system is the judiciary. When the legislature consisting of representatives elected by the people enacts policies, the instrument that implements those policies is the executive.
අඳ-ගොළු-බිහිරි පාර්ලිමේන්තුව
Ivan argues that Parliament, unlike legislatures elsewhere, ignores citizens’ complaints and media exposures. His examples include the Bribery Commission’s ruling on Mangala Samaraweera’s credit-card spending, its refusal to act on his own complaint against the Chief Justice, and Ravaya’s 2001 exposure of abuses by the Public Trustee, including misuse of the Samarakoon fund meant for poor couples’ dowries. He cites the Marga survey and the IBA report on the judiciary, which Parliament never debated, and the UNP’s silence on the Chief Justice now it is in government.
අධිකරණය කොයිබටද?
Ivan cites cases showing the judiciary’s decline: a Galle magistrate interdicted for fraud, judges accused of sexual abuse, a district judge found biased in a case against the head of the Court of Appeal, and a Chief Justice appointed while facing disbarment petitions. He explains the separation of powers, recalls J.R. Jayewardene’s purge of the Supreme Court and Neville Samarakoon’s resistance, the 1982 referendum ruling, and warns that without reform the executive will swallow judicial power.