Deformed Judiciary

By K. Balendra –December 16, 2015

K. Balendra

Various articles have appeared in the press regarding the inordinate delays experienced by the litigants in obtaining justice from the Courts of law. Every budget speech refers to the delays and promise to ensure that justice is meted without delay, quoting the saying that Justice Delayed is Justice Denied. However, no tangible steps have been taken in this regard. Retired judges and legal luminaries too have commented on this matter. Unfortunately, the retired judges appeared to have failed in their effort to rectify matters while in service, for reasons best known to them.

Two of us represented ourselves in person in all the legal battles, Commencing from Condominium Management Authority (CMA) District Courts Mt.lavinia & Colombo Appeal Court (2005-20015) and the Supreme Court (2011-20015), where a fundamental rights petition was filed by us, necessitated by the inaction of the Condominium Management Authority. Associated with the CMA were Urban Development Authority (UDA) Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) and Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA). The Condominium Management Authority was supported by the Attorney General’s Department, despite obvious flaws exhibited by them in their activities. One would have normally expected the Attorney General’s Department to pinpoint the shortcomings of the CMA and requested them to rectify same instead of proceeding with the inquiry. Unfortunately it did not happen. Attorney General’s department forgets the fact that they exist on tax Payers Money. Well, Attorney General’s Department is now in the news for different reasons.

I do not wish to dwell at length with regard to the ‘art and science’ used by CMA to deliberately delay the proceedings. The core of the dispute was/is provision of parking space as per rules in an Apartment Complex owned by us. The sequence of events were indicated in my letters to the press under the captions ‘Justice delayed in condo issues’ and an ‘Open letter to Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe Justice Minister’- ‘Justice still awaits residents of Colombo condo’ respectively.

I am happy to state that leave to proceed with the F.R. petition have been granted on 20/10/15 in terms of Article 12 (1) of the Constitution, after a total of 10 long years of hearing, in all the institutions mentioned above.

This does not mean we see the light at the end of the tunnel.

The purpose of this letter is to know whether the Courts of Law are meant for the Lawyers to earn their living or to ease the trials and tribulations experienced by the litigants. Regretfully, my experience suggests that it is meant for the former. This is fortified by the administration of Justice Law introduced by the one- time Justice Minister Mr. Felix Dias Bandaranaike. This law, I understand would have eased the time consumed at the courts. Unfortunately, I am inclined to believe that this law was withdrawn to satisfy the legal luminaries to continue their earnings, without a dent.                                                  Read More