“Justice System” as a threat to democracy and rule of law

One of the terrible consequences of a delayed trial is that several judges hear parts of the same case, and the last one that writes the judgement hears only very little of the evidence or nothing at all. As a result, judges make errors about factual matters. In one case, the judge wrote that although the complainant says that the accused policemen hit him on the chin with his pistol, there is no evidence of any such injury, when, in fact, the JMO’s report clearly mentions the injury. Sometimes retrials are ordered by the court of appeal due to such errors by the trial judge, which means the whole process begins once again after 12 to 14 or more years.

by Basil Fernando

( June 9, 2015, Hong Kong SAR, Sri Lanka Guardian) In this article, the “justice system” refers to the police, the prosecution (Attorney General’s Department), and the judicial institutions, as separate entities and as a collective in their interactions with each other.

Justice System as a Threat to Democracy and Rule of Law by Thavam Ratna