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Human rights in Sri Lanka take center stage at the United Nations

By Angilee Shah -06 November, 2012

Sri Lanka, pictured from space, had been a model of democracy but a new report on the country's human rights record finds the country heading in the wrong direction. (Photo courtesy of NASA.)

Sri Lanka has captured attention recently for a deteriorating situation around human rights. International Crisis Group researcher Alan Keenan explains why the Human Rights Council review is so important, and why the world should care.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse’s United People's Freedom Alliance introduced a bill last week impeach the country’s Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake. On Monday, hundreds of people, including lawyers and opposition leaders, protested the impeachment in front of the Supreme Court in Colombo.

The bill was introduced on the same day that Sri Lanka underwent a regular review of its human rights record as a member of the United Nations — a review that goes on every four years.

"It's ironic and telling that on the very day that Sri Lanka's case is heard before the Human Rights Council that the government chooses to launch an impeachment process against the chief justice," said Alan Keenan, Sri Lanka Project Director at the International Crisis Group. "That tells you both how arrogant they are and the degree of contempt they have for international institutions and their own institutions as well."

Since the end of the island’s decades-long civil war in 2009, human rights organizations say that the country has made little progress in ameliorating pervasive human rights violations such as extrajudicial killings, disappearances and the weakening of checks on executive power through media freedom and judicial independence. A high court judge was assaulted in early October after complaining about executive interference in the judiciary.

Keenan has been researching human rights and humanitarian work in Sri Lanka for almost 13 years. He explained by phone from London why last week’s review was so important and why the world should care about where Sri Lanka is headed.                                                          
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Crude oil imported from company that sold substandard fuel

Petroleum Minister Susil Premajayantha it is learnt has approved the purchase of 80,000 metric tons of Oman Light crude oil as an emergency purchase from Singapore’s Enoc Company that provided substandard petrol last year.

The stock of Oman Light has been purchased after the Sapugaskanda Refinery was shut down due to the lack of crude oil. CPC sources say that the oil shipment is to arrive in the country on the 8th.

The Vitol Company that provided substandard petrol and diesel had been blacklisted, but the Enoc Company that also supplied substandard fuel last July has not been substandard.

The committee that was appointed to inquire into the substandard fuel issue had recommended to the Ministry that fuel should be imported from a company that could supply the required fuel at required quantities at proper standards on the required date. The committee had shown that Ministry was otherwise not in a position to seek compensation from the company.

However, a CPC trade union leader said that compensation payment shad not been sought from the Enoc Company and that the CPC could not import fuel from a company that supplied substandard fuel as an emergency purchase when there are other companies that could supply the fuel.

A Plea For A Bipartisan Budget Debate

By Friday Forum -November 6, 2012 

Dr. Jayantha Dhanapala

Women struggling to sustain homes, wage earners, the business community and economists and other professionals, all await the presentation to parliament of the government’s budget proposals for the year 2013, on 8th November 2012. All of them, no doubt, have their own concerns and expectations as to the impact the national budget would have on their own budgets and economic well being. Many of them will also be entertaining thoughts of its impact, on the country itself and the nation’s well being.

Friday Forum, as a group of concerned citizens committed to social justice, the rule of law and democratic change, wishes to place some thoughts before the public, legislators and the government, on what it hopes, the budget will address and what the budgetary process and the outcome of that process, ought to be.

We wish that the processes involved in the development, approval and the effective implementation thereafter of the Budget be exercised with transparency, equity and due accountability to deliver sustainable growth and prosperity to the nation and its people. We believe that the citizens have a right to be made aware of the likely future impact on them and the nation as a consequence of the budget. These concerns include:

A. What are the national resource allocation priorities, trends in the shift of priorities and specific areas where cuts have been imposed and areas where additional resource allocations have been made? What are the justifications for both cuts and additional allocations? What are the consequential impacts ondifferent segments of society? What measures of relief and support are offered to those negatively impacted, especially the marginalized segments of society? 

B. Are the major infrastructure projects funded by previous budget allocations delivering outcomes and returns as anticipated? Where these investments have been funded mainly out of borrowings, will the expected future cash flow returns from these projects be adequate for debt servicing commitments?

C. What is the fiscal gap ie. the value today (the present value) of the difference between projected spending (including servicing official debt) and projected revenue in all future years? Is it positive or negative? Are there statutory controls on borrowing and if so are these being adhered to? What are citizens right to information, since citizens never appear to get a clear picture of the details of borrowing and the future consequences? 

D. Are there serious initiatives towards assuring that all key budget expenditure items are managed with economy, efficiency and effectiveness and allocated with equity?

E. What are the initiatives towards minimizing of wasteful / unproductive/ inequitable expenditure and what measures are in force to eliminate corruption?  Which Minister leads such initiative and to whom is he accountable? What have been the beneficial outcomes during the last year?

F.  Will the budget taken as a whole pass the citizens’ test in regard to justice, equity, transparency, sustainability and priorities for national reconciliation, poverty alleviation and economic opportunity widening growth?

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On Sri Lanka Darusman Says Explain 40,000 Killed, Will Check on Petrie Report

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, November 2 -- The day after Sri Lanka was reviewed, in speeches no longer than 72 second each, in the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review process, Inner City Press asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's deputy spokesman Eduardo Del Buey about the long delayed report into the UN's own actions and inaction in Sri Lanka in 2009, and whether it will be public.

   Del Buey said it is not finished; he did not answer if it will be made public, as was a similar report on the UN's actions and inactions in Rwanda in 1994. 

  Pressed, Del Buey disclaimed any connection between the UPR process and the report, which was supposed to be done by Thoraya Obaid but was switched to Charles Petrie, now working in Myanmar.

   Two hours later Inner City Press put the questions to Marzuki Darusman, chairman of the UN Panel of Experts on Sri Lanka. 

   Darusman gave a press conference about North Korea at which Inner City Press asked him about disappearances. Afterward, Inner City Press asked him about Sri Lanka and the delayed Petrie report.

  "I need to check," Darusman said, of the Petrie report. Of his two fellow Panel members he said, "We are following this very closely, the former panel members."

  Inner City Press told Darusman of Ban Ki-moon's definition of accountability, provided to Inner City Press on October 17, 2012 by his spokesman Martin Nesirky: it means "not letting deeds go unmarked, unnoticed, sot there is no impunity, so you can move on to reconciliation." It means "different things in different contexts."

  Darusman shook his head and said, "accountability means to explain what happened on the 40,000 deaths." That has not been done. Watch this site.

BREAKING NEWS: Lanka rejects 100 of 210 recommendations at UPR

Monday, November 05, 2012

Sri Lanka has rejected 110 of 210 recommendations submitted by 99 countries at the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva, the troika tasked with serving as rapporteurs for Sri Lanka’s UPR said.

Benin, India and Spain submitted its draft report on Sri Lanka at the UPR today. Presenting the report on Sri Lanka, the Ambassador of Spain to the UN in Geneva said that 210 recommendations were made to Sri Lanka by 99 countries during the UPR.

The Ambassador said that 110 recommendations had been accepted and 100 rejected. The Ambassador said that Sri Lanka has explained why the 100 recommendations were rejected.

Meanwhile Cuba, China and Russia raised concerns over what they said were attempts to use the UPR process to create a rift in the council and target a particular country.

After the draft report was adopted Sri Lanka’s special envoy for human rights, Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, said that Sri Lanka will send a set of voluntary pledges to the UN Human Rights Secretariat within two weeks.

He also said that the government will keep the Secretariat updated on the progress of the post war developments in Sri Lanka.

Report by Easwaran Rutnam

What Octave Mirabeau Said About Ceylon!

By Laksiri Fernando -November 5, 2012

Dr Laksiri Fernando

Octave Mirbeau’s “The Torture Garden” is undoubtedly a classic novel, but a controversial one. Different people appreciate it for different reasons. Sadistic beauty or cruelty, literary brilliance, poetic humour, powerful critique against politicians and bureaucracy are some. He was also sarcastic about scientists and intellectuals. It was once described as “the most sickening work of art in the nineteenth century.”

I recently reviewed it for Torture: Asian and Global Perspectives, a publication by the Asian Human Rights Commission. The reason was that the novel, irrespective of being a fiction, powerfully depicts the horrors of torture, practiced both in the West and the East (particularly China), and some of the events and methods narrated are based on ‘some history.’ For example, the story relates the brutal beheading of our ‘child hero’ Madduma Bandara in 1814 by the last King of Kandy, Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe, but attributes it to the British by mistake or by purpose.

But that is not the only reason why the novel could be of some interest to the Sri Lankan readers. There are so many other interesting references to Ceylon, not necessarily complimentary though, and amusingly, there are similarities between the politics of today and politics in France of that time where the story actually begins. To understand the nature or nuances, the context of the novel needs to be understood.

The novel was first published in 1899 during the scandalous Dreyfus Affair, where an Army Captain was framed for ‘conviction of treason’ whereas the real culprit was another. Anyone can find references to this incident easily. This ‘affair’ is sarcastically criticised in the novel and one may even find some similarity to the ‘Fonseka trials’ in Sri Lanka recently.

Titled Le Jardin des Supplices, novel was translated from the French to English by Alvah Bessie in 1929. There are several editions to the book, but the present review is based on the Bookkake (London) publication in 2008, now available online as Google book with an excellent introduction by Tom McCarthy.

The Story                                                      Read More

CJ in the spotlight UPR on the backburner

• By  Deepal Warnakulasuriya
• Sunday, 04 November 2012

The Universal Periodic Review on Sri Lanka in Geneva was overshadowed in the media by the ongoing tug-o-war between the executive and the judiciary, especially with the decisive move to impeach the Chief Justice.
The third impeachment motion against a Chief Justice in Sri Lanka was handed to the Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa last Thursday signed by 117 Members of Parliament, 42 signatures more than required. Accordingly, Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, the first female CJ in the country, will have to appear before the Parliament Select Committee (yet to be appointed) or else have the PSC essentially try her in absentia.  

Two previous Chief Justices, Neville Samarakoon and Sarath Silva faced impeachment under former Presidents J. R. Jayewardene and Chandrika Kumaratunga respectively with the charges against Silva being brought when Ranil Wickremesinghe was Prime Minister, briefly. Samarakoon resigned while the motion against Silva lapsed when Parliament was prorogued. Wickremesinghe and Silva found political common ground later in opposition to President Mahinda Rajapaksa.        

Prior to this, President Mahinda Rajapaksa had called for a meeting with the leaders of the constituent parties of the ruling UPFA on Tuesday and the meeting attended by ministers Dinesh Gunawardane, Rauff Hakeem, Tissa Vitharana, Douglas Devananda, Patali Champika Ranawaka, JNP’s Piyasiri Wijenayake and several others had decided to impeach the CJ.  Temple Trees sources said that the President was of the opinion that there should be checks and balances among the executive, the judiciary and the legislature. “If any arm of governance oversteps its boundaries, the legislature should intervene,” he had said.

The battle between executive and judiciary has been heating up for some weeks now and predictably the unfolding was not devoid of theatrics.  Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Deputy Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna and Parliamentarians Arundika Fernando, Shantha Bandara and Sudharshani Fernandopulle handed over the motion to the Speaker at an auspicious time before rushing to the Government Information Department where the Cabinet spokesperson Minister Keheliya Rambukwella was keeping the media waiting for the party, having done with his weekly briefing.  The Speaker’s office meanwhile fired off pictures of the ‘event’ to the media.  

Wanniarachchi explained that the impeachment motion against the CJ contained seven charges including actions committed in her personal capacity. She also added that the Speaker would appoint a Parliamentary Select Committee, comprising members of all parties, or call for a debate on the motion, if he was satisfied that that a prima facie case had been established. Wanniarachchi also shot down speculation that signatories had not read the petition and they had signed on empty pieces of papers, claiming that they had all read and understood before placing signatures.
Minister Rambukwella, questioned by the media, said that the motion had been necessitated by some recent acts of the judiciary which attempted to disregard the supremacy of Parliament. He also reminded that the judiciary’s infringement even prompted the Speaker to make a critical statement on the floor of the House. The motion also charged the CJ with ‘improper behavior’, pertained to conduct both in her official and personal capacity.

Ex-CJ on CJ-impeachment                                Full Article

Sunday, 04 November 2012 00:00

Nine charges fill the impeachment : Herein are they
(Lanka-e-News -05.Nov.2012, 6.30PM) The 
impeachment motion presented to Parliament against the chief justice (CJ) Dr. Shiranee Bandaranayake contains 9 charges , based on reports reaching Lanka e news.

The principal charge leveled against her is the purchasing of The Finance Co. shares in the stock market exchange at unduly higher prices (this was subsequently halted) by her husband Pradeep Kariyawasam when he was the Chairman of the National savings Bank (NSB). 

When a case is being heard relating to this allegation , as she is the CJ who would be appointing judges to the panel hearing this case , her position as CJ can militate against equity. ( Notably ,while Shiranee and Pradeep are wife and husband couple , the individual who appointed them as CJ and Chairman of NSB respectively failed in his duty primarily to realize this inequity resulting thereby 

The next charge is the CJ maintaining 9 current accounts allegedly in a private Bank in others’ names.( it is not clear whether there is a limit imposed on the number of accounts that can be maintained by a CJ)

The sister of CJ is a resident in Australia and she had transferred all her powers to the CJ by a power of Attorney. By virtue of that , the CJ had bought a residence in the Ceylinco Towers Building for Rs. 260 lakhs. A sum of Rs. 60 lakhs had only paid in that regard .Meanwhile due to the non payment of monies owing to the depositors of Golden Key belonging to Ceylinco group , a case is pending. The judge Shiranee Thilakawardena in the panel hearing this case was replaced and her role in the panel was taken over by Shiranee Bandaranayake . Later, she had abused her power allegedly as the CJ in respect of the sum of Rs. 200 lakhs not paid to Ceylinco Tower residency by entering into a deal.

The other accusation is , as the CJ who is the power of attorney holder of her sister ,there exists a legal bond.
The charge that is is linked to the ‘Divi Neguma’is , the CJ was appointed as a supreme court judge during the period when Chandrika Bandaranaike was the President of the country. At that time , the present CJ was the Dean of the law faculty of the Colombo University. During that period when the package for separation of powers was brought forward by Chandrika along with Dr. GL Peiris , it was Shiranee Bandaranayake ,the Colombo law faculty Dean who took a stubborn and positive stance. She was then made the CJ. 

A case was filed against her appointment on the grounds that an individual who had no experience as a judge had been appointed as a SC judge . That case which was heard by a panel of seven judges ,in a dissenting judgment, four judges for and three against decided in her favor.
One condition attached to this judgment however , that is , since Dr. Shiranee Bandaranayake prior to her appointment as the SC judge was prone to and involved in the documentation and its preparation pertaining to the separation of powers , she cannot be a member in the panel of judges deciding on the separation of powers. Now , this condition had been invoked against her in the impeachment motion , and that it therefore bars her from deciding on the provisions of the ‘divi neguma’.

(If it was known even before she was appointed as the present CJ that she was strongly prejudiced towards a separation of powers , aren’t those who appointed her despite being fully aware of this more guilty ? On the contrary , it is not made known how she could constitute an unevenness and inequity in respect of the separation of powers )

Impeachment Will Not Be Solution To Country’s Problems

By Jehan Perera -November 5, 2012

Jehan Perera

The government’s decision to impeach Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake on the grounds of alleged misbehavior is a controversial one.   It is extraordinary in a democratic society for a chief justice to be faced with charges that are said to merit impeachment.  During her long tenure on the Supreme Court Justice Bandaranayake since 1996 she has maintained a low profile.  She was also the country’s first woman judge of the Supreme Court.  She was appointed to the highest position in the judiciary by the present government.  The timing of her impeachment has been disconcerting.  The impeachment motion was presented to the Speaker of Parliament at same time the time that Sri Lanka was defending its human rights record before the United Nations in terms of the Universal Periodic Review.

The international fallout has been immediate.  The impeachment motion triggered a response from the United States which, last March, spearheaded a campaign in the UN Human Rights Council to get the Sri Lankan government to deal with the issue of human rights violations during the war.  The US representative said that Sri Lanka must strengthen its judicial process, protect members of the judiciary from attacks and restore an independent mechanism to oversee judicial appointments.  The attack on the Secretary of the Judicial Services Commission, of which the Chief Justice is the head several weeks ago was also noted in the US statement.  The JSC Secretary had publicly alleged executive interference in the judiciary prior to being attacked by unidentified men who have not yet been apprehended.

The timing of the impeachment gives an indication of the issues that spurred the government to action.  It coincided with the handing over of the Supreme Court’s determination on the legal cases filed before it with regard to the Divineguma bill.  Several parties had filed action before the Supreme Court opposing the legislation on various grounds, including its undermining of devolution of powers to the provincial councils.  The media has reported that a Supreme Court bench headed by the Chief Justice has decided that the Divineguma bill is not in conformity with the constitution.  The draft law has therefore to be passed by a 2/3 majority in Parliament and also has to obtain the approval of the people at a referendum.

MAJOR OBSTACLE                                                         Read More 

British PM warns Sri Lanka of ' consequences' over conflict

LONDON, May 16 (AFP) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown today warned Sri Lanka there would be "consequences for its actions" if Colombo did not allow humanitarian agencies access to civilians and end the conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels.

Brown also called for the LTTE to lay down its arms and allow trapped civilians to leave, and said he was backing United Nations efforts to end the conflict.

Sri Lanka stands on the brink," Brown said in a statement. "We have called repeatedly for the violence to cease.

“The humanitarian agencies must be granted access to civilians caught in the crossfire of a dreadful conflict. We are backing UN efforts to secure an orderly end to the conflict.

The LTTE must lay down its arms and allow civilians to leave. Sri Lanka must understand that there will be consequences for its actions.” A spokesman for Brown's Downing Street office told AFP the British leader would speak to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa by phone later this weekend, and added that Brown had already called Rajapaksa "several times to make his concerns clear."

Rights groups want inquiry into Sri Lanka wartime crimes

GENEVA | Mon Nov 5, 2012

(Reuters) - Leading human rights groups called on Monday for an independent international inquiry to investigate massacres of civilians and aid workers during Sri Lanka's three-decade civil war after accusing the government of having failed to do so.

Families of victims, including 17 staff of Action Contre la Faim (ACF) executed in Muttur in 2006, and five students shot dead in Trincomalee that year, joined the call for justice.

The appeal came after Sri Lanka's delegation formally rejected key recommendations by states calling for accountability at the U.N. Human Rights Council, which examined its record last week.

"I want an international inquiry and international judgment, otherwise I am not satisfied," Dr. K. Manoharan, whose 21-year-old son Ragihar was killed on Trincomalee beach in January 2006, told a news briefing.

Yolanda Foster, Sri Lanka expert at Amnesty International, said those responsible for atrocities in the war between the army and separatist Tamil Tigers still had not been prosecuted more than three years after the conflict ended in May 2009.

"The Trincomalee 5 case along with the ACF case is sort of emblematic of a culture of impunity in Sri Lanka where security forces are given carte blanche to continue to commit violations because the state is failing to independently investigate and prosecute," Foster told reporters.

Benoit Miribel, president of the French group Action Contre la Faim, said its 17 aid workers were shot in the back of the head in their Muttur compound in August 2006.

"In reality, the investigation has been a succession of obstruction, interference, of politics in the judiciary and a lack of transparency and independence...Nothing has really happened during the last six years."

A U.N.-sponsored panel, whose findings have been rejected by the Sri Lankan authorities, has said that the army committed large-scale abuses and was responsible for many civilian deaths in the final stages of the war against the Tamil rebels.

Sri Lanka's delegation, led by Mahinda Samarasinghe, said last week a court was probing 50 incidents in a report issued a year ago by its Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission.

But activists said that this did not go far enough and that no data base had been set up to help families trace the missing.

Ian Seiderman, legal and policy director of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), said Sri Lanka has consistently rejected cooperation with U.N. rights mechanisms.

"This really underscores the need for a proper full-scale international inquiry," he told reporters.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Michael Roddy)

CONFERENCE IN LONDON ON ALLEGED HR VIOLATIONS BY SL ARMY

November 5, 2012----Secretary of Communist Party of India (CPI), D. Raja

An international conference on Tamils, co-hosted by a British Parliamentary Group, will kick off in London tomorrow during which political leaders would discuss alleged rights violations by Sri Lankan Army in the last phase of the civil war. 

Communist Party of India (CPI) National Secretary D Raja and chief of CPI’s Tamil Nadu unit D Pandian will be taking part in the four-day conference in London that is being hosted by All Parliamentary Group for Tamils in collaboration with British Tamils Forum. 

The conference, which will see leaders representing Tamil community from across the globe, will call for justice through an international independent mechanism for truth and accountability with regard to the civil war in Sri Lanka. 

Raja, who left for London today, will highlight the “callous” attitude of Sri Lankan government in addressing the concerns raised by international community with regard to alleged violations of human rights. 

“The United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva passed a resolution in March censuring Sri Lanka for human rights violations. Several months have passed, but there is no action on the ground by the Sri Lankan Government,” he said. 

Raja said on behalf of his party, he would emphasis that Sri Lanka should take “credible action” against violators of human rights. - PTI

Reconsider impeachment motion:Prelates tell MR The Mahanayake Theras of the three main Nikayas have requested President Mahinda Rajapaksa toreconsider the need for the impeachment motion against Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake that had been handed over to Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa by ruling party MPs on Thursday. Mawatte Chapter Mahanayake the Ven. Thibbatuwawe Sumangala Thera, Asgiriya Chapter Mahanayake the Ven. Udugama Sri Buddharakkhitha Thera, Amarapura Nikaya Mahanayake the Ven. Dawuldena Gnanissara Thera and the Ramanna Nikaya Mahanayake the Ven. Napane Pemasiri Thera have in a letter to the President said it appeared that there was an atmosphere of crisis in the country and among the international community, centered round the impeachment motion against the Chief Justice. “Irrespective of which is supreme out of the three entities -- the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary -- when it comes to safeguarding law and order of the country it is clear to any person who respects the principles of democracy that all three institutions are not second to each other in supremacy, the four prelates have said. They said that the law was bonded with human civilization and was for the welfare of human beings and therefore the essence of Buddhist law was to consider it as the duty to subjugate the unrighteousness and propagate righteousness by controlling behaviour of individuals and ensuring the well-being of society. The Mahanayakes said they considered it the supreme duty of all those who expected the well-being of humanity, to create an environment where the law could be implemented independently and impartially.

The impeachment of Chief Justice is unconstitutional and any citizen or the Chief Justice herself can challenge before the Supreme Court for the unconstitutionality of such a resolution

(Lanka-e-News -05.Nov.2012, 11.30PM) Some members of the Sri Lankan parliament presented a resolution for the impeachment of the Chief Justice of Sri Lanka. The speaker tabled the resolution before the Sri Lankan parliament a few days ago.

No one except Mahinda Rajapakse, the President of Sri Lanka, states that the Government is not harassing the Judiciary.

World community is aware that the Rajapakse has already established a Military state.

However, impeachment of Chief Justice must be conducted according to the provisions of the Constitution of Sri Lanka and in a manner specifically stated in the Constitution.

Speaker or any other person has no authority to use any other method of impeachment other than the method described by the Constitution.

Article 107 specifically stated as follows:

(2) Every such Judge shall hold office during good behaviour, and shall not be removed except by an order of the President made after an address of Parliament supported by a majority of the total number of Members of Parliament (including those not present) has been presented to the President for such removal on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity :

Provided that no resolution for the presentation of such an address shall be entertained by the Speaker or placed on the Order Paper of Parliament, unless notice of such resolution is signed by not less than one-third of the total number of Members of Parliament and sets out full particulars of the alleged misbehaviour or incapacity.

(3) Parliament shall by law or by Standing Orders provide for all matters relating to the presentation of such an address, including the procedure for the passing of a such resolution, the investigation and proof of the alleged misbehaviour or incapacity and the right of such Judge to appear and to be heard in person or by representative.

(4) Every person appointed to be or to act as Chief Justice, President of the Court of Appeal or a Judge of the Supreme Court or Court of Appeal shall not enter upon the duties of his office until he takes and subscribes or makes and subscribes before the President, the oath or the affirmation set out in the Fourth Schedule.

Constitution does not mandate what is “proved misbehaviour ”

There are other two requirements to be satisfied before the speaker placed on the order paper.
(1) Signed by not less than 1/3rd of the total number of members of Parliament
And
(2) Sets out full particulars of the alleged misbahiviour

If the speaker failed to comply the procedure as stated under the constitution, such action will be considered as an abuse of power and in noncompliance of the Constitution. The ultimate result would be that such a resolution by the speaker will become null and void.

Speaker has no discretion to deviate to any other way not provided by the Constitution as he thinks fit under the circumstances.

Speaker’s such action can be challenged before the Supreme court as the Supreme court is the final authority to interpret the constitution.

The Constitution does not state that the “prima facie” allegations are sufficient to table such a resolution before the Parliament.

Further the said article specifically stated that “Provided that no resolution for the presentation of such an address shall be entertained by the Speaker”.

Therefore, any citizen of Sri Lanka or the Chief justice himself can file a petition to the Supreme Court to invalidate the speaker’s action if the speaker violated the provisions of the Constitution .

The Supreme Court has the legal authority to declare such an action null and void in violation of the Constitutional provisions.

The precise role of the judiciary in to interpret the Constitution and the statutes enacted under it. Sri Lankan Constitution specifically states that the Supreme Court is the ultimate and single authority on the subject of constitutionality. Judicial interpretation remains the chief means of keeping the Constitution in tune with modern life.

Therefore I urge the Sri Lanka Bar association which I am a member and the all attorney in Sri Lanka to challenge the unconstitutionality of the impeachment resolution. 

By Premalal Ranasinghe from New York