Sri Lanka lawyers boycott courts over impeachment
By Ranga Sirilal and Shihar
Aneez-COLOMBO |
Lawyers march as they boycott court proceedings
during a protest in front of the Supreme Courts in Colombo December 12,
2012.
(Reuters) - Sri Lankan
lawyers boycotted courts on Wednesday, crippling the judicial system in a
protest at what they call an unfair impeachment move against the chief justice
and is viewed abroad as a blow to judicial independence.
A parliamentary panel found the first
woman to lead Sri Lanka's Supreme Court, Shirani Bandaranayake, guilty last week
of financial irregularities and failing to declare her
assets.
The
United States, the United Nations and the Commonwealth have raised concerns
about the process - which could see parliament voting next month on whether to
sack her - and have called on the government to ensure the independence of the
judiciary.
"Lawyers
are staging a protest today in protest that the chief justice had not got an
impartial, just and fair trial," said Wijedasa Rajapaksa, an opposition
legislator and the president of the Bar Association.
Hundreds
of lawyers in official uniform marched in different parts of the island
nation.
Some
carried placards reading "hands off from judiciary" and "today judiciary,
tomorrow?", while others put up posters warning of the risks from what they
called an unfair trial.
The
government said the impeachment panel proceedings were in line with the
constitution and the protest was not a success, as lawyers claimed.
"Their
expectation was to cripple the entire judiciary. But it didn't happen as some
court houses functioned," government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told
Reuters.
Impeachment
moves began after Bandaranayake ruled against a bill proposing a budget of 80
billion rupees for development, saying it had to be approved by nine provincial
councils.
The
ruling angered some of President Mahinda Rajapaksa's backers, who accused the
judiciary of overstepping its authority, while Bandaranayake's supporters
complained of political interference.
The
ruling party filed a motion against Bandaranayake last month.
Parliament
is expected to vote on the panel's finding in January. The president, whose
party has more than two thirds of the 225 seats, needs a simple majority to
remove her from her post.
Saliya
Pieris, a lawyer who represented her before the panel, issued a statement on
behalf of the chief justice saying she could have proven her innocence but had
not been allowed to cross examine witnesses.
Parliament
speaker Chamal Rajapaksa, the president's brother, appointed the panel, seven of
whose 11 members were from the ruling party, to investigate 14 charges against
Bandaranayake. On Friday she was found guilty on three of the first five
charges.
The
four opposition members on the panel quit on Friday, before its ruling, citing
injustice, and the entire opposition party left the parliamentary chamber en
masse. A day earlier Bandaranayake withdrew from the proceedings.
Lawyers
and rights groups have challenged the legality of the select committee in the
courts.
Diplomats
who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said the impeachment review had
been conducted without due process or transparency.
"This
gives the effect that the executive can do anything in the supreme court using
its parliamentary two-thirds majority," a diplomat from a European country
said.
"We
don't have any problem with removing the chief justice. But we are concerned on
the process."
(Writing
by Shihar Aneez, editing by Michael Roddy)
