Saliya Pieris, PC..
Last Friday at a ceremonial sitting of the Supreme Court, the Bar bid farewell to the Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya PC. He retires after 5 years and 7 months having assumed office in the immediate aftermath of the Easter Sunday Bombing in 2019.
Known as a tough and able prosecutor in the Attorney General’s Department, with international experience, it was he who prosecuted the Royal Park Murder Case. Rather than being Attorney General his own preference was to be a judge of the Supreme Court. However, fate decreed otherwise, and he became the Attorney General and from there elevated directly to the office of Chief Justice. Previously six other Attorneys General – Thomas Anton Bertram, John Howard, Alan Rose QC , Hema Basnayake QC, Victor Tennekoon QC and Sarath N. Silva PC had been elevated in this manner.
The previous year, in December 2018, a seven judge bench of the Supreme Court presided by Chief Justice Nalin Perera delivered a landmark judgment quashing the then President’s decision to unconstitutionally dissolve Parliament. The judgment was one of the Court’s proudest moments. At the same time a Bench of the Court of Appeal had also taken a brave decision to prevent the Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse and Cabinet from functioning as they had been defeated in a no confidence motion in Parliament. As Attorney General Jayantha Jayasuriya had had to defend the President’s position.
Chief Justice Jayasuriya presided over a challenging period for the judiciary. The Easter carnage, the COVID Pandemic and the economic crisis were major challenges as much as the several attacks on the judiciary by the former executive President and Members of Parliament, who even attempted to summon senior judges before Parliament for breach of Parliamentary Privilege. The Executive defied certain court orders to achieve its political gains and the President made veiled threats at the judiciary.
Among all these crises Jayantha Jayasuriya was a tranquil sphinx like figure rarely ruffled. Many a time one could not be too sure what his thinking was.
On rare occasions while on the bench a lawyer would irritate him and his anger would be visible. But these were no more than a handful of episodes. The Chief Justice was patient and courteous on the bench exercising judicial restraint almost always.
In August 2021, the BASL publicly expressed its concerns about a seminar held for judicial officers at the Judges Training Institute on public protests which was perceived as affecting the independence of junior judges. The Chief Justice and the other members of the JSC recognised the concerns of the BASL even though they strongly disagreed with the BASL. Nevertheless, they engaged with the Management Committee of the BASL, inviting us to watch the recordings of the seminar and assured us that the seminar had been organised in good faith.
It was due to this constructive relationship that, when at other times false social media posts were shared on the judiciary, that the Bar could stand up on behalf of the bench, as the bench does not have a voice of its own, except through its decisions.
Chief Justice Jayasuriya leaves behind a legacy of landmark judgments including the Easter Sunday Case and the Economic Crisis Case where the court held former leaders of the country liable for violating the Fundamental Rights of the people. These were important decisions upholding the doctrine of public trust.
Under his watch other judges of the Supreme Court delivered landmark decisions quashing controversial Presidential pardons, holding the sitting President liable for breach of fundamental rights for obstructing the local authority elections and effectively suspending the Inspector General of Police from office.
It was known that the Chief Justice respected the independence of other judges, be it in the apex courts or the original courts.
The challenges of laws delays, the automation of the courts, the immense burden of cases on the Supreme Court, the effective regulating the minor judiciary remain and perhaps are matters that cannot be addressed during the tenure of a single Chief Justice. However initial steps have been taken and improvements have been made in some sectors.
Jayantha Jayasuriya as Chief Justice demonstrated a high degree of personal integrity. On Friday the President of the BASL recalled that in 2021 the Chief Justice and his wife preferred to go to the local MOH office to get the COVID Vaccine rather than seeking any preferential treatment.
As President of the BASL, I had to interact with the Chief Justice on many a matter. He would promptly answer the phone, give appointments, listen and discuss. However, the Chief Justice did not act at the speed others expected him to and he would make decisions at his pace and in his time. There were times some would have preferred him to act swiftly and decisively, but his very nature was that he took his time to decide, pondering over the pros and cons of a given situation and never rushing to judgment.
Perhaps what some saw as his weakness was also his strength.
I wish Jayantha Jayasuriya PC, the Chief Justice, a happy and contented retirement.(Facebook)