My Submission To The PSC On Political And Constitutional Changes

By Chandra Jayaratne -August 9, 2013 

Chandra Jayaratne

The Secretary to the Select Committee of Parliament to Recommend and

Report on Political and Constitutional Measures to Empower the People of

Sri Lanka to Live as One Nation,

Parliament of Sri Lank,

Parliamentary Complex,

Sri Jayawardhanapura,

Kotte.

Dear Sir,

Representations to the Select Committee of Parliament to Recommend and Report on Political and Constitutional Measures to Empower the People of Sri Lanka to Live as One Nation, Promoting Social , Economic, Political and Cultural Development and Ensuring that All People will Preserve and Promote Their Respective Identities and Live With Dignity and Security as One Nation and Enhance the Unity of People of Sri Lanka

I refer you to the public notice dated 10^th July 2013 in the above connection issued under your hand and have pleasure in making my submissions for due consideration by the Parliamentary Select Committee.

I submit that the objectives as set out in the terms of reference of the Parliamentary Select Committee referred to above cannot be achieved on a sustainable long term basis within the present political structure/culture and in terms of the present Constitution.

I therefore submit that it is essential for the Parliamentary Select Committee to present in its recommendation sand report that the under noted fundamental political and constitutional measures be introduced to give effect to the;

Basil’s thugs involved in Rathupaswela clash

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Created On Thursday, 08 August 2013 12:31

Category: General

Investigations into the Weliweriya clash last week by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has found that a group of drug addict thugs operating for Western Provincial Council Minister Nimal Lansa were involved in the attack carried out by the army on villagers from Rathupaswela and Weliweriya that killed nearly seven persons. The goon squad had participated in the attack on a directive by SLFP Gampaha District Leader, Minister Basil Rajapaksa.

The CID investigation has revealed that it was Lansa’s goon squad that attacked unarmed civilians with poles. The goons who had attacked the villagers were treated to a booze party by Lansa last Saturday following a request made by Minister Basil Rajapaksa, the CID has unravelled.

Military sources say that it was an interesting twist of fate to see the Sri Lanka Army Infantry Unit attacking unarmed civilians on the day Lt. General Daya Ratnayake assumed office as the Army Commander, especially since Ratnayake was also a member of the Infantry Unit.

Weliveriya protest outcome?: 7 dead bodies washed ashore - why bodies buried secretly? (Lanka-e-News-08.Aug.2013, 11.30PM) Seven dead bodies have been washed ashore since Saturday 3 rd until yesterday along the coast of two Islets in the north , and it is learnt that government is deeply in its toils trying to hide this mystery, according to reports reaching Lanka e news inside information division.  Two bodies were first found washed ashore at Punguda theevu islet , on 3rd Saturday. It is reported that the criminal defense secretary Gotabaya had given orders to bury them without a post mortem examination. Accordingly they have been buried. The age range of these two dead bodies is 27-28 years and 30-32 years , and they are male youths. One of them was nude while the other was only wearing a blu colour jockstrap. There were no bullet wounds on both bodies. On one body the neck spine was fractured while on the right knee of the other there was a large hole suggesting that the victim had been dragged a long distance along the ground. There were indications that the big toes of the two feet were tied of one victim.  Both these bodies had been interred secretly . The people of Kayts Islet too have informed the police on the next day , (4) at 11.20 a.m. that four bodies were seen on the shores . These bodies had been partially eaten by fish , and except one all the others were nude. They were all males in the age range of 25 to 45 years. However none of them had bullet wounds though one body had a cut on the back spine . As all these bodies were in a state of decay they were emitting a foul odour. Like in the earlier case , the spine on one of the dead bodies had been broken due to assault. All the victims were about 5’6” in height. The 7 th victim washed ashore at the Pungudu theevu coast ,was notified to the police by the people on yesterday. Pungudu theevu is the largest Islet of Sri Lanka. Two bodies had been buried secretly while the other five bodies are in the mortuary of the Jaffna police. As the refrigeration facilities are inadequate there , these bodies cannot be kept there for a long time. There are no special signs to indicate that the dead are Tamil Nationals . According to LeN inside information division , they are on the face of it Sinhalese. It is specially significant to note that these bodies have been discovered after the recent Weliveriya genocide committed by a group of the army. The most crucial and pertinent question is , while attempts are being made to belittle this grave crime by painting a picture that it was just akin to a quarrel between women over a safety pin , how come so many dead bodies are emerging on the shores out of a quarrel over a safety pin ? Much more puzzling are the cold and calculated attempts to bury two of the bodies secretly on Gotabaya’s orders . Why were such illegal orders given? May we recall that LeN reported on the 5th that three dead bodies that were dispatched to Apollo hospital were ordered to be destroyed by Gotabaya , and 20 individuals have disappeared following the Weliveriya protests. Every month the police has to make a PP 3 gazette notification and via it all the names of those who went missing shall be included . But after criminal Gotabaya became the defense Secretary , the publication of the PP3 had ceased. Consequently , it had become difficult to establish the connection between the dead bodies discovered and those gone missing .

SriLanka's opposition demands parliamentary debate and an independent probe on Weliweriya killings

Weliweriya: A Massacre Of The Innocents

By Surendra Ajit Rupasinghe -August 9, 2013 

Ajit Rupasinghe

Massacre or legal killing sanctioned by the Constitution?

Do the killings in Weliweriya amount to a massacre? A massacre would be a deliberate act of mass murder committed against an unarmed population to terrorize and silence a people. A massacre would constitute a war crime. A crime against humanity. It would be an act of war against the people, in a  symbolic and concentrated form. Are the Weliweriya killings legal, as sanctioned and mandated by the Constitution? We were taught that the Constitution is meant to defend and protect the people from such threats to their lives and freedoms? Is it that constitutions are merely toilet paper used by tyrants to cover up their tyranny? If the killings are deemed legal and constitutional, that is if they are considered to be prescribed in Law, then that would be the law of tyranny, not the Rule of Democracy. I mean, you cannot go around killing unarmed civilians, just because you cannot tolerate dissent. The Law would then simply be the writ of the Dictator. Then, the people would have no other recourse but to overturn the verdict- and overthrow the Regime and the State that prescribes the Law that allows them to be shot and killed while raising their grievances in peaceful protest and agitation.  What if the killings are deemed unlawful, extra-legal, constituting a crime against the people and humanity? Then the killers, right up the chain of command,  would have to be identified and prosecuted accordingly. The prosecution should be carried out rigorously with complete transparency by an independent judicial commission-certainly not by the armed forces themselves, nor any agency loyal to the Regime. If that does not happen, the Constitution and the Rule of Law would  be proven to be nothing but weapons of deceit and repression. Then the people would have no right nor obligation to obey such a Constitution nor Rule of Law, nor a Regime nor State that legitimates such crimes against the people and against humanity. What happened to the inquiry over the massacre of some 27 inmates at the Welikadaprison by the armed forces of the State?

Who are the real victims and the real criminals?               Read More  

SriLanka's opposition demands parliamentary debate and an independent probe on Weliweriya killings

8/07/2013

Sri Lanka's opposition Chief Whip John Amaratunga today demanded a debate in the parliament in regard of the deaths occurred in Weliweriya in Gampaha district in military involvement to disperse a group of people agitating for the right of safe drinking water.

Government Chief Whip Dinesh Gunawardane, Minister, said that the final decision regarding the debate may be taken at the meeting of the leaders of the parliamentary groups held today.

Delivering a special statement in the parliament today, the Opposition Leader Ranil Wickramasinghe questioned why the Army was called to disperse a civilian agitation in a non-major town.

He demanded an independent investigation about the incident.

In response, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said that the military called to manage the violent protest had to take self defensive and civilian security measures in the context of protestors attacking the personnel with Molotov Cocktail and shooting.

Army crackdown: GR responds to allegations

By Shamindra Ferdinando-August 8, 2013, 10:10 pm 

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa yesterday alleged that in the wake of the recent army crackdown on Weliweriya protesters, on the night of August 6, an attempt was being made to strengthen the call for an international war crimes investigation against the Sri Lanka Army.

Army Crackdown GR Responds to Allegations by nelvely

US withdraws diplomats from Lahore

FRIDAY, 09 AUGUST 2013 

A statue of Queen Victoria which was banished from Sri Lanka's presidential palace amid fears it brought bad luck will now be spruced up for an upcoming Commonwealth summit.

The 1897 statue of the former British monarch seated on a throne had been banished from the palace a few years ago and dumped in the backyard of Colombo's museum.

Museum superintendent Ranjith Hewage said the museum now planned to shift the statue to a better location so that it faced the main road as well as a public park, which was until recently named after her.

"We will turn the statue from its present location to face the road," Hewage told AFP.

"It will be done before the CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting)."

He said the statue that marked Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee was moved from its original location to make way for "improvements" at the palace, the official residence of Sri Lanka's heads of state since independence from Britain in 1948.

However, official sources said the move was due to a superstition that the statue was inauspicious for incumbents and brought bad luck.

At least two former presidents are known to have used sorcerers to neutralise the perceived effect of demons at the palace.

Most Sri Lankan presidents have not lived at the palace and only used it to receive visiting dignitaries.

Sri Lanka hosts the November 15-17 meeting of the 54-member Commonwealth, whose members share a common heritage of British colonial rule.

The meeting comes at a time when Sri Lanka is shedding colonial-era street names and renaming thoroughfares after local heroes. (AFP)

Body of Monk recovered from pond

FRIDAY, 09 AUGUST 2013

The body of a 79-year-old Buddhist monk was found floating in a pond at the back of the Kalatuwagama Purana Raja Maha Viharaya at Wellawa in Kurunegala this morning, Police said.

They said they recovered a knife with blood stains in the vicinity of the pond. A pillow with blood marks was also found.

Police said the body had cut injuries near the neck area.

Kurunegala police are investigating.

Man Has An Insatiable Quest For Truth

By Hema Senanayake -August 9, 2013 |

Hema Senanayake

In a recent article to CT, Shyamon Jayasinghe quoting Albert Einstein concludes that “none-religious person can be a better moral being.” None-religious persons are known as atheists. There are semi-atheists too. One good thing about atheists is that they protect and will protect the freedom of religion in the world – And none of the religion is capable of doing this. To me the freedom of religion means not only the freedom to believe and practice any faith that does not harm others including the person who practices it, but also the freedom to debate about religious believes. 

However my take about religion has a different dimension; it is about “truth” not essentially of making a good moral being. What is true will prevail. Who decides which is true and which is not? Whether we like it or not the modern science and the scientific investigation has already changed the way we live today and would change the way we live in future. Today, globally, the scientific investigation is the predominant way of determining what is true and what is false. For an example the Buddha had rejected the notion of creator God about 2600 years ago, but increasing number of people around the globe awaken to this reality when the scientists began to reject the notion of creator God.

Commenting on Shyamon Jayasinhe’s essay, one of CT’s readers quoted physicist Stephen Hawking for his view on the creator God. Stephan Hawking said “There is no need to have a creator as everything is created by nothing” Obviously Stephen Hawking’s statement must be based on the results of scientific investigation. Recently the CNN telecast a program about Stephen Hawking’s views on the God. Does his observation endorses certain religious beliefs and rejects certain religious beliefs? Whatever the case is, the science will decide the future religious beliefs; the science will take its own course and religions that will mend will survive. This means the standing of religion or even the validity of atheism is not only judged on its ability to make a better moral being, instead the man’s intrinsic quest for “truth” decides what is to believe or what is not.

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How Asia’s Bokassa mauled Ex IGP Balasuriya..
(Lanka-e-News-08.Aug.2013,11.30PM) Lanka e news which reported that SL’s Medamulana Percy Mahendra Rajapakse is demonstrating that he is the Asian counterpart of Africa’s Bokassa by getting down citizens of the country to his Temple Trees and fiercely assaulting them has another report of his brutality , and the victim in this instance is none other than the former IGP Dr. Mahinda Balasuriya

Following the brutal killing of the youth Roshan Chanaka at the Katunayake protest demonstrations by the police , Percy Mahendra Rajapakse had summoned Balasuriya , the former IGP . 

The latter has gone to meet Rajapakse along with Gamini Navaratne DIG and his personal security officer , Nilange an ASP.

When they were heading towards the lobby ,Percy Mahendra Rajapakse had been in the upper floor. Minister Dullas Alahaperuma who was there had told them ‘Lokka is in a furious mood today ‘ and patted them on the back.

Just then the criminal defense Secretary had arrived , and no sooner he entered than from a distance he had begun shouting and scolding Balasuriya in the choicest language. Subsequently Balasuriya was invited to come alone to the upper floor.

Just as Balasuriya went up , those at the ground floor , the DIG and ASP had heard Balasuriya sreaming, ‘Buddhu Ammo. Sir , don’t assault me, ‘ while the noise of pummeling and punching went on. Navaratne realizing the perilous situation had silently moved out and tried to leave in his vehicle when Balasuriya had appeared looking most meek and smashed up with his uniform buttons torn away , and face swollen.

He had then with difficulty got in the vehicle along with his security escorts. While travelling Balasuriya had told , ‘just look at me. President thrashed me even disregarding my age’.

The following day , Balasuriya tendered his resignation. Even when preparing his resignation he could not halt the profuse nasal discharge.

Balasuriya however was later awarded an Ambassador post.

When the President of a country is trying to emulate qualities of a barbaric leader like Bokassa when there are so many cultured and civilized leaders in the world who he can follow; and if that President Rajapakse is capable of flagrantly and brazenly violating the laws of his country by resorting to hooliganism against an IGP , is it a cause for surprise when criminals attack low rung police officers in a country of such a President ?

Rajapaksas fought to get the tender for the Colombo South Port project

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Created On Thursday, 08 August 2013 12:36

Category: Exclusive

State secret 3

The Government Servants Against Corruption organization has released its third report in the series of revelations on state corruption.

The expose reveals that the tender for the South Port project lacked transparency and was marred with corruption while a terminal in the Colombo Port was handed over to the John Keells Company following proper tender procedures.

The Government Servants Against Corruption organization has said that the names of the international companies involved in the transaction would not be revealed since several citizens’ movements are trying to take the case of this large scale corruption before an international court.

During the tenure of President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge in 2005, a committee headed by public administration official Collure was appointed to identify a construction firm to commence the South Port project with Asian Development Bank (ADB) project. Members for the tender board including Collure were appointed by the Cabinet of Ministers.

After President Mahinda Rajapaksa assumed office, the tender board was under continuous pressure from the President to select a company of his choice for the project. The first pressure on the tender board was brought upon by the First Lady. She had put pressure on the tender board to choose a Chinese company of her choice.

The First Lady has said that the respective Chinese company should be awarded the project since the company has assured to take care of Namal Rajapaksa’s overseas education (he was at the time receiving his education overseas).

Afterwards, Presidential Advisor at the time, Basil Rajapaksa has asked the tender board to allocate the project to a Chinese company for which Sumal Perera from Access. Meanwhile, Namal Rajapaksa (who at the time was not an MP) has requested that the project be given to a Chinese company of his choice.

The tender board had informed Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunge of the pressure brought upon them by the Rajapaksas. He had then requested the Chinese embassy in Colombo to combine the two Chinese companies proposed by the First Lady and Basil Rajapaksa to form one company to assign the project. However, given the continuous pressure faced by the tender committee headed by Collure, he had finally resigned from the post.

The President’s brother, Chamal Rajapaksa was then appointed as the Port Minister and he then called for new tenders for the project. The project was finally assigned to a Singaporean company for which Harry Jayawardena’s Aitken Spence is the local agent. Nevertheless, the President had taken great pains to take the tender away from the company after being informed that they could not give bribes and commissions according to their country’s laws.

Harry Jayawardena resorted to legal action against the pressures faced by him through the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA). The President however completely ignored the court proceedings and cancelled the tender in order to give it to another company.

It was Harry Jayawardena’s Aitken Spence that was re-awarded the project when tendered called for the second time. The President had continuously exerted pressure on Harry Jayawardena and asked him to get rid of the Singaporean company that is unable to make any commission payments and had asked him to affiliate himself with the newly formed joint venture company (an amalgamation of the companies proposed by the First Lady and Basil).

Jayawardena had then joined the Chinese company proposed by the Rajapaksas. However, Harry Jayawardena’s Aitken Spence Company had withdrawn from the project claiming they had to make payments to the President, First Lady, Namal Rajapaksa, Basil Rajapaksa and the Port Chairman every three months. Finally, the project was completely handed over to the Rajapaksas’ Chinese firm.

Government Servants Against Corruption have said in their report that the companies involved in this tender scam and the monies that passed hands would be revealed as soon as they receive the green light from their lawyers.

US withdraws diplomats from Lahore

FRIDAY, 09 AUGUST 2013 

The US has ordered all non-essential government personnel to leave its consulate-general in the Pakistani city of Lahore. A senior State Department official said the move was in response to a "credible threat" to the consulate.

US personnel remaining in Lahore should limit non-essential travel within the country, the official said.

On Thursday, the US issued a travel warning advising all US citizens to defer non-essential travel to Pakistan.

"We are undertaking this drawdown due to concerns about credible threat information specific to the US Consulate in Lahore," the official said.

"An updated travel warning has also been issued," the statement said, adding that "US citizens remaining in Lahore... should limit non-essential travel within the country, be aware of their surroundings whether in their residences or moving about, [and] make their own contingency emergency plans."

The travel warning said: "The presence of several foreign and indigenous terrorist groups poses a potential danger to US citizens throughout Pakistan."

US officials say it is not clear when the consulate will open again.

Government speaks of Lamborghinis

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Created On Friday, 09 August 2013 05:57

Category: General

The government t has finally spoken about Lamborghini cars in the country in response to a question posed by the UNP in parliament.
UNP MP Sajith Premadasa has accused the government of looking to import luxury cars for the Commonwealth summit in November using public funds.
The government however in response has said there are only two Lamborghini cars in Sri Lanka and not many as claimed by the opposition.
Transport Minister Kumara Welgama has said that the opposition continues to accuse the government of importing Lamborghini cars to the country when there are only two such vehicles in Sri Lanka.
When asked who brought down the two cars the Minister has observed that he did not know as his subject covers only public transport.

Norochcholai breaks down again

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Created On Friday, 09 August 2013 05:59

Category: General

The Chinese built Norochcholai coal power plant has broken down once again. The plant has been out of service for over 20 times since it was commissioned.

CEB sources say that this time around, the Norochcholai coal power plant would be out of service for about three months.

The CEB has to now purchase the shortfall in the power supply from private power producers at higher rates. Asa result, a unit of power that is usually purchased at Rs. 9.50 has to now be purchased at Rs. 30 per unit.

Swiss introduce apartheid-like restrictions: Local authorities ban asylum seekers from public places

Refugees prohibited from 'loitering' in playgrounds or visiting swimming pools and libraries

WEDNESDAY 07 AUGUST 2013

Switzerland’s local authorities have introduced draconian restrictions which ban asylum-seekers from frequenting public places such as school playgrounds, swimming pools and libraries in a move angrily denounced by human rights groups as intolerable and racist.

In the town of Bremgarten west of Zurich, where a new centre for asylum-seekers opened last month, officials said refugees would not be allowed to “loiter” in school playgrounds and would be banned from visiting public swimming pools, playing fields and a church. A total of 32 “exclusion zones” have been drawn up.

Raymond Tellenbach, the town’s mayor, told the German broadcaster ARD: “We have decided on security grounds not to allow access to these areas, to prevent conflict and guard against possible drug use.”

Mario Gattiker, the head of Switzerland’s Federal Office of Immigration which endorsed the apartheid-style restrictions, justified the move to journalists saying: “We need rules to ensure a peaceful and orderly coexistence of residents and asylum-seekers.”

However a spokesman for Switzerland’s non-governmental Refugee Council described the restraining orders as “intolerable and inhuman” and demanded that the authorities suspend the measures. “It is up to the authorities to create an atmosphere of openness,” the spokesman added. The human rights group Solidarité Sans Frontières said the restrictions were “blatantly discriminatory.” However Roman Staub, the mayor of the nearby town of Menzingen said he fully supported banning asylum-seekers from the vicinity of schools: “This is certainly a very difficult area, because here asylum-seekers could meet our schoolchildren – young girls our young boys,” he remarked.

Switzerland plays host to almost double the number of asylum-seekers per head of population of its European neighbours. It counts one refugee for every 332 inhabitants, compared to one per 625 inhabitants on the rest of the continent. Some 48,000 refugees are currently seeking asylum in Switzerland. In June this year voters took part in a referendum which overwhelmingly backed moves to tighten asylum restrictions amid fears voiced by the popular right-wing Swiss People’s Party that the country was being inundated with refugees.

The new rules stipulate that military desertion is no longer a reason for claiming asylum. Would-be refugees can also no longer apply for asylum through Swiss foreign embassies.

The growing refugee population has obliged Swiss local authorities to seek new ways of accommodating asylum-seekers. Several Swiss army mountain bunkers have been decommissioned and turned into refugee centres.

Critics point out that most of the bunkers are miles away from human habitation and that under current rules resident refugees are subjected to a curfew which forbids them from leaving the premises after 5pm. 

Some Swiss politicians have nevertheless complained that the presence of asylum-seekers in remote Alpine regions could have a negative impact on the tourist industry.

Oprah Winfrey 'was victim of racism' in Switzerland

Oprah Winfrey recalls her experience in Zurich. Courtesy CBS

Continue reading the main story

9 August 2013 -The star made an estimated $77m last year

US talk show host Oprah Winfrey says she was the victim of racism during a recent visit to Switzerland.

She said an assistant refused to serve her in an upmarket handbag shop in Zurich.

Winfrey, one of the world's richest women, was apparently told one of the bags was "too expensive" for her.

Her claims, made to a US television programme, come amid a political row over plans by some Swiss towns to ban asylum seekers from some public places.

The BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Berne says human rights groups have likened the plans - which include banning asylum seekers from swimming pools, playing fields and libraries - to apartheid.

Proof

Winfrey said she left the shop calmly without arguing, but that the experience was proof that racism continues to be a problem.Winfrey, who stars in Lee Daniels' new film The Butler, visited Zurich last month to attend singer Tina Turner's wedding. The Oprah Winfrey Show is not shown in Switzerland.

"There's two different ways to handle it," she said.

"I could've had the whole blow-up thing... but it still exists, of course it does."

Shop owner Trudie Gotz told the BBC that an assistant had shown Winfrey several other items before the "misunderstanding" over a $35,000 (£22,500) bag, which was kept behind a screen.

Winfrey's claims are a public relations disaster for Switzerland, our correspondent says.

About 48,000 people are currently seeking asylum in Switzerland. It has twice as many asylum seekers as the European average.

Officials say the curbs, which will also see asylum seekers housed in special centres, are aimed at preventing tensions with residents.

The country's asylum laws were tightened in June.

Film highlights Filipino workers’ woes in Israel

By AP News Aug 09, 2013 

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A film about Filipino migrant workers in Israel who hide a 4-year-old boy to try to stop his deportation has hit close to home in the Philippines, where such emotional dramas are all too familiar to millions of overseas laborers and their siblings.

Film highlights Filipino workers’ woes in Israel by nelvely

Dr. Mark Cooray’s Misrepresentation Of The Way A Judge Can Be Removed In UK

By Basil Fernando -August 8, 2013 

Basil Fernando

The government, severely criticized for the arbitrary removal of Chief JusticeShirani Bandaranayake, made much out of an article written by Dr. Mark Cooray (published in the government’s mouth piece “Daily News” in three parts). Later it was put into a booklet and widely circulated.

However, what is stated in Dr. Mark Cooray’s article is blatantly wrong.

Dr. Mark Cooray cites what he calls analogous provisions to the Sri Lankan Constitution from the law of other jurisdictions. For example, he cites Articles 33 and 135 of the British Constitutional Reform Act of 2005, which laid down the rules for the removal of judges in Northern Ireland, and also civil and legal provisions from the United States. Then he states that, “Like the Americans, the British too have placed the fullest confidence in their legislature to be able to make a considered decision to remove a judge of the highest court”.

Dr. Mark Cooray has completely misinformed himself about the said Article 33 and the procedure relating to the removal of a judge in England. He assumes that mere address in the Parliament could lead to the dismissal of a judge. However, its scope is quite different.

He wrote,

“Britain is the head of the Commonwealth and we may perhaps gather what exactly was meant in terms of the Latimer House Principles by studying the British Constitutional Reform Act of 2005 which was promulgated long after the ratification of the Latimer House Princples was formulated. One of the most radical aspects of the British constitutional reform was that a new 12-member Supreme Court was created to be highest court in Britian and it would function outside the House of Lords breaking the centuries of British tradition. The interesting thing is to note how these judges of the Supreme Court were to be removed. Article 33 of the British Constitutional Reform Act of 2005 is as follows:

“A judge of the Supreme Court holds that office during good behaviour, but may be removed from it on the address of both Houses of Parliament.”

That is all this huge 323-page Act of Parliament says about the removal of judges of the Supreme Court. This provision to remove Supreme Court judges basically follows the time honoured British practice.

There is no talk of an ‘impartial tribunal’ or about filing charges, hearings and the right to defend oneself. Somebody files a motion in parliament and after due debate, Parliament will decide whether to sack or retain the judge. “

Wrong                                     Read More