Rule of Law and Independence of the Judiciary –By Elmore Perera
(Lanka-e-News -20.Nov.2012, 1.00P AM) The Preamble to the 1978 Constitution sets out the Mandate given by the Sovereign People to assure to all peoples FREEDOM, EQUALITY, JUSTICE, FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS and THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE JUDICIARY, as the intangible heritage that guarantees the dignity and well being of succeeding generations of the Peoples of Sri Lanka. Significantly “Justice” and “the independence of the Judiciary” are given particular emphasis.
Article 4(c) has brought about a functional separation of Judicial power from Executive and Legislative powers. The domain of Judicial power (except for the limited area specifically assigned to Parliament) has been entrusted solely and exclusively to the Judiciary, to be exercised strictly upholding the solemnity and sanctity of the Rule of Law.
In 1215, after armed rebellion by his barons, King John acceded to the Great Charter of Runnymede, the Magna Carta which indelibly enshrined that “the Rule of Law shall be upheld with utmost commitment, with the words “To no one we will sell, to no one deny or delay right or Justice.”
In 1688, Judicial Independence was at stake. People staged a revolution, ousted King James II from the throne and accepted his successors William and Mary on condition that they shall “guarantee the tenure of the Judges, essential to their true Independence of mind and action.”
In 1701, the People’s goal of ensuring that brutal intimidation of the Judiciary would not occur again in England, was achieved by the enactment of the “Act of Settlement.”
The 7th President of the USA, Andrew Jackson (1829 -1837) stated that “all the rights secured to the Citizens under the Constitution are worth nothing and a mere bubble unless guaranteed to them by an Independent and Virtuous Judiciary.
Bertrand Russel observed that “Government can easily exist without law, but law cannot exist without Government.”
Michael Tamplet stated “We have a problem when the same people who make the law get to decide whether or not they themselves have broken the law.”
When British imperialism was at its peak in 1937, Abrahams C.J., Maartensz J and Soertsz J, Colonial Judges who sat in our Supreme Court in the Bracegirdle case, upheld the Rule of Law in an exemplary manner. They held that the Supreme Court was entitled to inquire whether the conditions necessary for the exercise of the power in the Order-in-Council have been fulfilled, and quashed the order made by the Governor.
Sir Winston Churchill said “Our aim is, not to make our Judges wealthy men or women, but to satisfy their needs to maintain a modest and dignified way of life suited to the gravity, and indeed the majesty of the duties they discharge.
Referring to the Judiciary in the UK recently, Lord Phillips said “The media is not slow to attack the Judiciary, but I am not aware that it has ever accused a judge of political bias, and I am not even aware of the politics of my colleagues in the Court.
Mahatma Gandhi said “There is a higher Court than the Court of Justice and that is the Court of Conscience. It supersedes all the other Courts. Whatever any one may say or interpret, I dare say that “when independence of the Judiciary is lost or endangered, people do not own anything in that country.”
Full story >>
Article 4(c) has brought about a functional separation of Judicial power from Executive and Legislative powers. The domain of Judicial power (except for the limited area specifically assigned to Parliament) has been entrusted solely and exclusively to the Judiciary, to be exercised strictly upholding the solemnity and sanctity of the Rule of Law.
In 1215, after armed rebellion by his barons, King John acceded to the Great Charter of Runnymede, the Magna Carta which indelibly enshrined that “the Rule of Law shall be upheld with utmost commitment, with the words “To no one we will sell, to no one deny or delay right or Justice.”
In 1688, Judicial Independence was at stake. People staged a revolution, ousted King James II from the throne and accepted his successors William and Mary on condition that they shall “guarantee the tenure of the Judges, essential to their true Independence of mind and action.”
In 1701, the People’s goal of ensuring that brutal intimidation of the Judiciary would not occur again in England, was achieved by the enactment of the “Act of Settlement.”
The 7th President of the USA, Andrew Jackson (1829 -1837) stated that “all the rights secured to the Citizens under the Constitution are worth nothing and a mere bubble unless guaranteed to them by an Independent and Virtuous Judiciary.
Bertrand Russel observed that “Government can easily exist without law, but law cannot exist without Government.”
Michael Tamplet stated “We have a problem when the same people who make the law get to decide whether or not they themselves have broken the law.”
When British imperialism was at its peak in 1937, Abrahams C.J., Maartensz J and Soertsz J, Colonial Judges who sat in our Supreme Court in the Bracegirdle case, upheld the Rule of Law in an exemplary manner. They held that the Supreme Court was entitled to inquire whether the conditions necessary for the exercise of the power in the Order-in-Council have been fulfilled, and quashed the order made by the Governor.
Sir Winston Churchill said “Our aim is, not to make our Judges wealthy men or women, but to satisfy their needs to maintain a modest and dignified way of life suited to the gravity, and indeed the majesty of the duties they discharge.
Referring to the Judiciary in the UK recently, Lord Phillips said “The media is not slow to attack the Judiciary, but I am not aware that it has ever accused a judge of political bias, and I am not even aware of the politics of my colleagues in the Court.
Mahatma Gandhi said “There is a higher Court than the Court of Justice and that is the Court of Conscience. It supersedes all the other Courts. Whatever any one may say or interpret, I dare say that “when independence of the Judiciary is lost or endangered, people do not own anything in that country.”
Full story >>
