The politics of justice
Two important observations on the Sri Lankan judiciary were published last week. One is in the latest American human rights report, which says the Chief Justice has cut the number of human rights cases the courts examine on the pretext of preventing a backlog — denying redress even to people who have been tortured.
අධිකරණයේ දේශපාලනය
Taking up newly appointed Supreme Court judge C.V. Wigneswaran’s remark that promotions depend on executive favour, Ivan argues that the executive has captured the judiciary. He lists cases in which the Chief Justice sat on politically sensitive petitions and ruled for the government: Karu Jayasuriya’s election-time petitions against Lake House and ITN, the 17th Amendment hearing, appointments cases, a GMOA doctor’s petition, railway strike-breaking, and a Vavuniya torture victim awarded only Rs. 15,000.