A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Thursday, August 24, 2017
Special Situations Demand Special Solutions
President
Mandela, referring to the South African legal system had said, “God’s
Mill grinds slow they say, the pace of the South African Legal System
puts even the God’s Mill to shame.” Is Sri Lanka any better?
All
lawyers are aware that a party in default in a tenancy case can remain
in possession of the house by prolonging the case for various reasons. This is between two individuals. It
is also known that it takes on an average ten years for a criminal case
to be concluded. That our legal system grind slowly is not a new
discovery. This is a phenomenon that the Hon. Minister of Justice is aware of from his days in the Law College and as a legal practitioner.
Actions
which are not normal like embezzlement of enormous amounts of State
funds, money laundering, unjust personal enrichment, white collar crime,
kidnapping, murder, organized and other sophisticated crimes are
special situations. The government should marshal the resources
necessary to implement and execute special situation transactions
quickly, effectively and smoothly.
Common sense dictates that it is not prudent to burden an already overloaded court with crimes falling into these categories. It
becomes the responsibility of the Minister of Justice to effectively
and efficaciously respond to this exceptional circumstance.
Resources
At
the ceremonial sitting of the Supreme Court to welcome the new Chief
Justice Priyasath Dep, His Lordship said, among other things, “There
is a need to increase the number of judges and develop the
infrastructure by constructing more court houses. There is a backlog of
cases in the Supreme Court and in the High Court. There is an urgent
need to increase the number of Supreme Court and High Court Judges.
The
court management system could be improved using modern technology.
Computerisation, office automation and adopting electronic filing system
will improve the court management. New methods should be adopted for
court and case management. Countries like Singapore and Malaysia were
able to reduce the backlog of cases by using modern technology and
management systems. The judges should divest the administration
functions to registrars or designated officers so that they will have
more time for court work. The courts cannot function without an
efficient and a competent staff. Supporting staff plays an important
role in management of the courts. The quality and the standards of the
supporting staff should be improved.”
The Attorney General’s department is no different. If they are short of staff and expertise provide these cadres. Why
has the Justice Minister not taken steps expeditiously to remedy this
situation? If he claims to have done something over the past two years,
then it is clearly inadequate. Without gentlemanly admitting the inadequacy, he seems to evade responsibility by politicising the issue. He speaks about not taking political revenge or not interfering with the independence of the judiciary. Mr. Minister the public never asked you to take political revenge or interfere with the judiciary. What they clearly want is for you to do your job as Minister of Justice. What
has improving the efficiency of the court system got to do with taking
political revenge or with interference with the judiciary?
Clear Alternatives
As
a consequence of this failure, the people who are seeking justice for
the atrocities, corruption and misappropriation of public funds by
certain suspects are becoming restless. Is the government waiting until the people come out to the streets and cause havoc? Why
is the Minister of Justice dilly dallying without creating or
facilitating the environment for the justice system to work smoothly?
One of the Four Universal Principles of the rule of law as defined by the World Justice Project is :
“Accessible
and Impartial Dispute Resolution: Justice is delivered timely by
competent, ethical, and independent representatives and neutrals who are
accessible, have adequate resources, and reflect the makeup of the
communities they serve”.
The alternatives are clear. The cases can be handled by:\