Judicious Way out of a Judicial Fiasco
by Rajan Philips The NPP government has walked into a judicial storm of its own making. It seems determined to bulldoze its way through the storm, use its two-thirds majority in parliament to amend the constitution, and extend by two years the retirement age of the sitting and future Supreme Court and Court of Appeal […]
The NPP government has inadvertently ignited a judicial controversy, intent on swiftly amending the constitution via a two-thirds majority in parliament. The government's proposal, to extend the retirement age of Supreme Court and Court of Appeal judges alongside those in lower courts, is deemed a short-sighted political maneuver without a clear explanation.
The source of this idea remains uncertain, though it might have originated within the judiciary. Despite this, the government lacks credibility to contest such allegations.
Minister of Justice Harshana Nanayakkara appears more like a public spokesperson for the President, rather than an impartial adviser. While the Minister should not resign over this issue, he must continue voicing professional concerns to the President, as reported following a meeting with the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL). BASL should maintain communication channels with the Minister to facilitate the exchange of professional views and political perspectives.
To extricate themselves from this predicament, the government should differentiate between professional opinions and political rhetoric. This is a strategy already employed by respected senior lawyer Lal Wijenayake, who is an NPP stalwart with no JVP connections and enjoys the respect of JVP leaders. Wijenayake advocates for separating professional opinions from political noise, suggesting that Dr. Colvin R de Silva's approach of not appointing judges from a "witches' cauldron" could be beneficial for the NPP.
Dr. Nihal Jayawickrama proposes a judicious solution: the President should allow the Chief Justice to retire on schedule and then appoint a Chief Justice acceptable to him, either from among the present judges, the Bar, or elsewhere. This proposal avoids meddling with the constitution and provides the President with more flexibility in selecting a Chief Justice without considering seniority.
Written by urgent.news from The Island Sri Lanka's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
