Independence of judiciary

Image: Sirisena invited Gnanasara and his mother to his office after pardoning him. 20th of June 2019: The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) and its Executive Director, Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, filed papers challenging the Presidential Pardon of Gnanasara Thero who was convicted for contempt of court by the Court of Appeal on 8th August 2018. He was sentenced […]

Mr. Kalinga Indatissa P.C, President Bar Association of Sri Lanka,   Dear Mr. lndatissa, It has been brought to our Commission’s attention that members of certain regional Bar Associations (e.g., Mawanella and Badulla) have refused to appear on behalf of members of the Muslim community arrested in the backdrop of the post-April violent attacks. As […]

CPA Statement on the Presidential Pardon of Gnanasara Thero. 24th May 2019, Colombo, Sri Lanka – The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) expresses its deep shock and concern over the Presidential pardon of Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, who was released from prison on 23rd May 2019. The pardon raises a number of pressing questions which the President and […]

11 boys abducted and killed in 2008; 14 naval officers implicated in the crimes, 13 of them arrested and produced before a magistrate. Last Thursday, the 14th suspect in the case, war time Commander Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda won reprieve from arrest in the country’s highest court – probably for the duration of his trial For […]

Lawyers for Democracy (LfD) is gravely concerned with the current constitutional impasse created due to the delay in appointing the President of the Court of Appeal. The process of appointment of judges set out in the Constitution must be respected to the letter and spirit of the Constitution. LfD notes that this delay sends a […]

Image: Rev. Gnansara known for his anti Muslim hate speeches an  inciting violence. 30th January 2019. Lawyers for Democracy (LfD) is concerned by reports indicating a possible grant of presidential pardon to Rev. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara, who is well known for his aggressive conduct and inciting of violence, particularly communal hatred. Rev Gnansara has a […]

A group of concerned  citizens have drafted a petition addressed to President Sirisena requesting  to (a) Guarantee that Gnanasara will not be released on 4th of February 2019, and any plans to do so are immediately terminated and (b) Direct all agencies involved to expedite investigations into the crimes committed by Gnanasara including in Aluthgama 2014 and […]

The ongoing war of words in Parliament over the appointment of judges to the superior courts has an increasingly sinister dimension to it that must not be underestimated. Eerily familiar signs Taken together with the push by some politicians and supportive monks to seek a presidential pardon for General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena, […]

By Tharindi Pabasara. The indictments against the seven defendants including former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa pertaining to the D.A. Rajapaksa Museum case have been read out at the Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar today (22). The case was taken up before the Special High Court three-judge bench comprising Judges Sampath Abeykoon, Sampath Wijeratne, and Champa Janaki […]

Commission will cover period between Jan. 2015 to Dec. 2018. Retired SC judge will head five member Commission. Probe will cover acts of corruption, fraud, criminal breach of trust, criminal misappropriation of property, cheating and abuse or misuse of power or authority, state resources and privileges. Interim report required within three month & final report […]

Image: Weerawansa is a very close associate of Rajapaksa. The Bar Association of Sri Lanka has vehemently condemned MP Wimal Weerawansa for casting aspersions on the judiciary by hiding behind parliamentary privileges, which prevent him from being dealt with for contempt. [ Weerawansa is leading pro Rajapaksa propagandist.) A statement titled ‘deplores statement made by […]

Any day is important, and some days are extra- special. However, the events that unfold on that special day would be fermented for over the years. Some years are extra-special too. The year 2019 is one such year. As the presidency enters into its fifth year, this would be the election year. This is also […]

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya has made an initial announcement in parliament that the new Leader of the Opposition would be former president Mahinda Rajapaksa of the SLFP/UPFA.  However, this has been challenged by the TNA whose leader R Sampanthan previously held the position and who has not been removed from this position.  This has led to […]

Image: 24 day peaceful protest against Sirisena’s constitutional coup came to an end with the news of Rajapaksa’s resignation.(c)S.Deshapriya. But Sri Lanka’s biggest worry is a fresh eruption of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe power struggle. New space has emerged for de-escalating Sri Lanka’s political crisis with the timely and judicious intervention by the Sri Lankan Supreme Court. […]

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s United National Front expects appoint Ranil Wickremesinghe to be re-appointed Prime Minister while their opponents said a decision will be taken tonight after the Supreme Court reversed a sacking of parliament by President Maithripala Sirisena. “Sri Lanka has a strong democratic traditions, illegitimate acts by the executive or or parliament cannot […]

Dec 03, 2018 . AFP – A court in Sri Lanka suspended Mahinda Rajapakse’s powers as prime minister on Monday and ruled his disputed cabinet could not govern the strife-torn island until it proved its legitimacy. The decision casts further legal doubt over Rajapakse’s claim to lead Sri Lanka, which has been in turmoil since […]

Image: In custody: Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne at the Magistrates Court in Colombo on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: AFP Meera Srinivasan COLOMBO,NOVEMBER 28, 2018. He is accused of harbouring the suspect in a case concerning the disappearance 11 youngsters in the final stages of war A magistrate court on Wednesday remanded Sri Lanka’s top-most military officer […]

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Presidential Secretariat has not responded to repeated requests from a Commission of Inquiry probing irregularities at state-run SriLankan Airlines and Mihin Lanka for more time to complete its work, its chairman said. Commission Chairman Anil Gunaratne, a retired Supreme Court judge, said that the Presidential Secretariat has not responded to multiple […]

In a shocking development, the Attorney General today withdrew an appeal filed against the acquittal of Bodu Bala Sena General Secretary Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera over causing damage to Christian church in Malabe, in 2007. When the case was taken up earlier this week, the Deputy Solicitor General informed the Court of Appeal that the Attorney General has […]

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s parliament speaker Karu Jayasuriya said 122 lawmakers in the 225-seat assembly had signed a letter saying they opposed the appointment of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister. A statement said the letter would be sent by Jayasuriya to President Maithripala Sirisena who on October 26 appointed Rajapakse as prime minister […]

AFP – Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court on Tuesday overruled President Maithripala Sirisena’s dissolution of parliament and ordered a halt to preparations for snap elections next year. The Indian Ocean island has been gripped by a constitutional crisis since Sirisena sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on October 26 and replaced him with former strongman president Mahinda […]

Constitution a counter-majoritarian document . Article 48 (1) doesn’t say PM can be removed by President . SLFP cannot form a national government. Politics has always been a messy game. It got even messier over the past few days. At a time when many debates, arguments and justifications are being brought up, one certainly wouldn’t […]

Image: Media awaiting for news, in front of the SC on 12 Nov 2018. Strong arguments were presented in the Supreme Court today in favour of the petitions filed against President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision to prematurely dissolve Parliament. The hearing took place before a three-judge bench, presided over by Chief Justice Nalin Perera. FR Petitions […]

November 9, 2018. WASHINGTON—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Rep. Dina Titus, Co-Chair of the Sri Lanka Caucus; and Rep. David Price, Ranking Member of the House Democracy Partnership today urged Sri Lanka to uphold its commitment to democratic governance and reopen the country’s Parliament. In a letter to President Maithripala […]

 LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI/AFP/Getty Images:  A Demonstration in Colombo on November 4, 2018. The U.S. and Japan have both paused their respective projects in Sri Lanka amid concerns about democracy, according to the country’s ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. The European Union said it may consider revoking Colombo’s trade privileges if the government doesn’t continue progress on […]

(Summary of statements made by (Dr) Jayampathy Wickramaratne, President’s Counsel and Member of Parliament at media briefings on the crisis triggered off by the purported unconstitutional removal of the Prime Minister) A constitutional crisis has been precipitated with President Sirisena purporting to remove Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe and purporting to appoint Mahinda Rajapakse MP as […]

Image: Duminda Silva. State prosecutors also flagged unethical and contemptuous media reporting on Duminda Silva’s appeal case, and told the Supreme Court during the appeal hearings that certain journalists were being paid to write only statements made in court by lawyers for the defendant, and representing them as facts proven in court. Statements like “Silva’s […]

Image: Convicted murderer was  close associate of Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. The Supreme Court’s affirming of the conviction of former parliamentarian Duminda Silva and three of his supporters for causing the death of politician Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra and others on 8th October 2011 reflect innovative judicial reasoning that has been ignored in typically sensationalist media coverage of […]

 On 14th September, eight Tamil detainees in the Anuradhapura prison, detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) since around 2009 commenced a fast. Their cases are yet to be concluded, with a major reason for delays being the non-attendance of officials from the Attorney General’s department who are prosecuting the cases. One of the […]

(September 14, 2018) Continuing controversy over Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Ravi Wijegunaratne, wanted by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in connection with allegedly aiding and abetting Lt. Commander Chandana Prasad Hettiarachchi, a suspect in two major wartime cases, leaving for Mexico on Sept. 10 has taken a dramatic turn with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) […]