IHR vehemently condemns the attempt of the government to impeach the chief justice

Friday, 02 November 2012

Intellectuals For Human Rights (IHR) vehemently condemns the attempt of the government to impeach the chief justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake. IHR strongly believe that this is a direct threat to the independence of the judiciary and therefore the democracy. Independent functioning and check and balance process of the executive, legislator and the judiciary is the key to a democratic society. If the executive and the legislator violate the independent functioning of the judiciary it will lead to a totalitarian regime.

It is clear that there is a serious conflict between the executive and the judiciary over certain government policies which conflict with the constitution. The president and the government seem to expect favourable decisions from the Supreme Court (SC) when matters that SC interpretations are sought. The conflict started after recent supreme court decisions were against the government's wish. The Divineguma Bill is the most recent issue that the government up in arms against the SC.

At a meeting with the constituent parties of the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) chaired by President Mahinda Rajapaksa had decided to bring an impeachment motion against Chief Justice and now it has been handed over to the Speaker. Hence, the impeachment is not of certain individuals or not only against the Justice Bandaranayake in particular but a clear showpiece of government attitude towards the judiciary. We, IHR stress that whole processes specially, the objective of the impeachment is not acceptable in any norms and urge the government to uphold the independence of the judiciary.

Dr.Anura Karunatilake

General Secretary

Intellectuals for Human Rights (IHR)