Food For Thought For Constitution Making
By Nagananda Kodituwakku –December 26, 2016
Nagananda Kodituwakku
On 07th July 2016, the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe launched a calculated attack on the INDEPENDENCE OF THE JUDICIARY, in the Parliament, requesting the Speaker to overrule a judgment (Singarasa vs Attorney General – SC/SPL/LA/182/99) pronounced by the Supreme Court. Any right thinking person would perceive this action as an encroachment of people’s judicial power only vested in the judiciary. Referring to the Supreme Court and claiming supremacy over the judiciary Ranil Wickremesinghe said, “…the Court does not even have to exercise the judicial power of the people. The Parliament has it and the Court does it on its behalf…’
It is quite apparent that this utterly irresponsible statement has been made for a purpose; that is to keep the judiciary under the firm grip of utterly self-centred people holding office in the Executive and the legislature, who habitually violate inalienable sovereign rights of the people for their private benefit.
They have already achieved their desire by reserving right to appoint 7 MPs to the 10-member Constitutional Council, whilst appointing only three members with integrity and eminence to it, a process whereby the MPs retains the veto power over the judicial appointments, effectively denying the people of their right to an independent judiciary.
This appalling conduct of the so-called people’s representatives also violates the pledge they have made to the people at the adoption of the Constitution ‘to respect the immutable republican principles, which include the FREEDOM, JUSTICE and the INDEPENDENCE OF THE JUDICIARY’.
Therefore, people shall demand that the judicial power of the people shall only be exercised by the Judiciary with no strings attached (not through the parliament) and there shall be no place at all for any MP in the Constitutional Council, which shall only be consisted with people of eminence and integrity, without which people will have no hope from the judiciary to act fearlessly with no fear or favour in the face of blatant injustice.
How the democracy prevails in the mother of democracy
In the Great Britain, the epitome of democracy, the independence and the integrity of the judiciary are always respected. The Executive and Legislature do not attempt to undermine the authority and the independence of the judiciary.
The best example is the Brexit judgement pronounced by the High Court in November 2016, which ruled that the Executive has no authority to give notice of withdrawal from the EU, after people opted to be out from the EU.
