Debilitated, but not too bad
For all the serious and inherent limits of the Seventeenth Amendment, the fact that a Constitutional Council and a system of independent commissions have been enacted is a very important step. It was the JVP’s intervention that got even this debilitated version through.
Darkest period of judiciary
The UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges asked, through the Foreign Minister, that the Chief Justice be prevented from sitting while the impeachment was under way. The Justice Minister has protested that no power may interfere with the judiciary, which under our constitution is independent.
Plotters of legal conspiracy stuck in mud
How a state metes out justice is said to show how civilised it is. The contents of the impeachment motion against the Chief Justice, and the way power is being used to abort that impeachment, show how uncivilised the affairs of this country have become.
Democracy and the crisis in the judiciary
The judicial crisis around Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva is a question that can decide the politics of the country. At no point should the Supreme Court become a partner in an executive programme that runs against the principles it exists to protect.
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.
Need for reforms cries out loud
An unprecedented interest in the reforms good governance needs has arisen. The UNP is demanding independent commissions for elections, the judicial service, the police and the public service under a constitutional council, and K.N. Choksy is to bring a draft bill he has prepared.
Government in extremely delicate position
The PA government seems to be trying to cover up all its sins through peace talks. Meanwhile the conditions for a democratic political culture — an independent elections commission first among them — are being deferred until a new constitution that may never come.
A wake up call to main opposition
The opposition transacts with this government the way a serf transacts with his feudal lord. The serf’s manner before his master is timid: he could not protest even when his wife or his daughter was taken. Timid talk about four commissions will not revive a decaying democracy.
Will democracy survive at crucial elections?
For democratic politics this parliamentary election will be decisive: whatever democratic freedom is left depends on how it comes out. The Elections Commissioner means to act forcefully and the EU observers are working more systematically than before — and it remains to be seen whether that is enough.
Judging the independence of the Judiciary
An independent judiciary is a precondition for the survival of a democracy. Sovereign power lies with the people, and it is the courts’ responsibility not to permit laws that reduce it. The test applied here is how the bench was constituted to examine the Seventeenth Amendment.