Justice Minister hits back at CLA
By Saman Indrajith Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara yesterday told Parliament that the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association (CLA) was not an organisation officially recognised or registered under the Commonwealth Secretariat, but a fee-levying private association. Responding to a question by Opposition and SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa on why he had failed to meet CLA representatives, who…
Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara defended himself against accusations from the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association (CLA) regarding a lack of procedural fairness. Nanayakkara clarified to Parliament that the CLA is a private association that charges membership fees, rather than an officially recognized entity within the Commonwealth Secretariat.
When Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa inquired about his failure to meet with CLA representatives who had recently traveled to Sri Lanka, Nanayakkara stated that he had extended an invitation for a meeting but they were unable to attend. The CLA has raised concerns in a report about the Supreme Court hearing petitions against the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, including the composition of the five-member bench.
CLA President Steven Thiru specifically questioned the fairness of the proceedings. Nanayakkara pointed out that CLA representatives had later requested another meeting date, but he had already set aside official commitments for the proposed time. He emphasized that it was incorrect to claim he had rejected the CLA delegation, explaining that the organization is not an official body within the Commonwealth.
However, he did not dismiss the CLA as "a bad organization," acknowledging that the veracity of certain statements made by CLA members during their visit needed further verification. Nanayakkara identified Upul Jayasuriya as the CLA's local representative and noted that he had given Jayasuriya the opportunity to meet, even though Jayasuriya claimed he could not due to being unavailable in Colombo.
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.
