By Colombo Telegraph –
The three branches of the legal profession, assembled at the 18th Commonwealth Law Conference, in Cape Town, South Africa call upon the Members of the Commonwealth, through the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group to place Sri Lanka on the agenda of its next meeting on 26 April 2013 and suspend it from the Councils of the Commonwealth for serious and persistent violations of the Commonwealth fundamental values.
Chief Justice - Shirani
Issuing a statement the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, the Commonwealth Legal Education Association and the Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association say “tarnish the reputation of the Commonwealth especially given that the Sri Lankan Head of State will thereby assume the role of Chair – in – Office”
We publish below the statement in full;
RESOLUTION ON THE RULE OF LAW AND JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE IN SRI LANKA
REFERRING to the Statements we have previously issued expressing our grave concern about the flawed impeachment process by which Chief Justice Bandaranayake was removed from the office of Chief Justice in defiance of the judgements of the highest courts in Sri Lanka.
REFERRING also to the statements of concern issued by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers;
RECALLING:the Commonwealth (Latimer House) Principles on the proper relationship between the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary; the Commonwealth Declarations of Principles and Values as recently embodied in the Commonwealth Charter;
Sri Lanka’s commitment, as a Member of the Commonwealth, to these values;
NOTING:that Membership of the Commonwealth is seen as a badge of respectability but that badge is being tarnished by repressive actions in Sri Lanka:
– the continued erosion of the independence of the judiciary through the impeachment of the Chief Justice and the subsequent relocation of magistrates and judges in Sri Lanka;
– the Executive’s failure to abide by court orders; and
– the gross and persistent harassment of members of the legal profession and others who are seeking to defend these values in Sri Lanka.
THE CLA, CLEA AND CMJA, representing three branches of the profession, assembled at the 18th Commonwealth Law Conference, in Cape Town, South Africa:
1. Call upon the Members of the Commonwealth, through the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group to place Sri Lanka on the agenda of its next meeting on 26 April 2013 and suspend it from the Councils of the Commonwealth for serious and persistent violations of the Commonwealth fundamental values. This suspension would not preclude the people of Sri Lanka from participating in non-governmental Commonwealth activities; and
2. Exhort Members of the Commonwealth to reconsider the holding of the next Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka as to do so will:
a) tarnish the reputation of the Commonwealth especially given that the Sri Lankan Head of State will thereby assume the role of Chair – in – Office;
b) call into grave question the value, credibility and future of the Commonwealth;
c) be seen as condoning the action of governments who violate its principles and by its silence will undermine the moral authority it purports to have in protecting and promoting fundamental values of the rule of law and human rights Notwithstanding this resolution, the CLA, CLEA and CMJA affirm their support to those seeking to uphold the rule of law in Sri Lanka.
Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA)
Commonwealth Legal Education Association (CLEA)
Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association (CMJA)
Read more here
Related posts;
‘As A Member Of Commonwealth, Follow Its Values’ Urge Commonwealth Judges, Magistrates And Lawyers
Kapila / April 17, 2013
The Commonwealth of Clowns which is an old British colonial relic morphed into a platform for third world dictators like Mahinda Rajapassa to grandstand and feel important seems to be finally waking up!
Billions of Lankan tax rupees have been spent on the Commonwealth of Nations Circus – failed Hambantota Games bids at the clownish Criminal at the CB Nivard Cabral’s cheerleading, Commonwealth Parliament clowns conference last year in Colombo..
Hambantota today is a GIANT ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER ZONE stripped of its green areas with massive 6 lane highways being built for the CHOGM circus scheduled for November this year! The people of the region are fisher folk and farmers who don;t own fancy superluxury cars and SUVs beloved of the Rajapakss GODEYAS! Oh what a circus is Rajapassa and the Commonwealth of Clowns!
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AYMAN / April 17, 2013
THAT IS GOOD NEWS.
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Dinuk / April 17, 2013
Shiranee Bandaranaiyake should be reinstated and that corrupt [Edited out] Mohan Peris forced to resign and tried for all this crooked deals!
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Solomon / April 17, 2013
The clown Sharma who is Sec Gen of the Commonwealth Circus should be forced to resign for flirting with and fingering and encouraging the Mahinda Rajapassa military dictatorship in Sri Lanka.
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Jayantha / April 17, 2013
Yes Commonwealth should stand up to this Hambanthota Crook Gamaya who think he could hoodwink respectable CW similar to the way he hoodwinked 80% (eighty percent of Sri Lanka’s sinhala game gonas)of Sri Lanka’s villege Donkey Gon Harakas.He duped 80% Sinhala Budhist game modayas by aligning himself to paid and bribed Buddhist Preletes.
CW should implement a total travcel ban on on this Hambanthota Crook family and all his Dictatorial parliament thug goons and his Goon Supreme court judges, criminal courts, lawyers and the police and secutity force personnel, BBS etc where he uses whenever he wants.
This Hambanthota modaya did the biggest environmental disaster to his own district by covering over 500 acres of fertile virgin soil and animal habitat land with three feet of thick concrete building Mattala Airport with no planes in sight.
Also he brought in sea water 100 acres inland to build Hambanthota harbour disrtoying the soil barrier.Hambanthota Stadium, Cinema villege, hotels are few other disasters he has brought upon his own town where these will be mere Museums in future.
Also he built 100 feet wide and over 200 miles long roads laying concrete blocks throughout Hambanthota.
Very soon Hambanthota will face an environmental disaster where at the moment it faces constant droughts.
This absolute mutt should be taught by CW how to govern a country befor ruining the rest of the country.
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Maestro / April 18, 2013
Correct assessment of Rajapassa governance and achievements.
I agree with you.How can a godaya do anything better?
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Safa / April 18, 2013
I fully agree.
We surrendered land to the sea whereas Sri Lanka is a country with limited land resources.
Biggest problem in Hambantota is the lack of water for which nothing has been done.
Destroyed the natural habitat of a bird and animal sanctuary so that his family can fly home.
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Safa / April 17, 2013
MP is out of the country and ST took oaths before MR as acting CJ today. MR and LW were shown glaring at her looking rather annoyed as she was dressed rather inappropriately, unlike a CJ of the country taking oaths before a self proclaimed sadhu like MR.
Nevertheless it is a lesson for MR and gang that they will face the repercussions of their illegal impeachment. Now its the commonwealth lawyers and judiciary, vey soon the commonwealth.
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KAPAN / April 18, 2013
MAGE HAMANTOTA MEE HARAKA GODAYA ELECTED ACTING CJ WHEN THE THIEF CJ WENT ABROAD. I AM SURPRISED THIER ARE BOORU HARAK(COWS ) IN SRI LANKA LIKE NALIN (http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=76947 ) WHO PRAISE THE PERETRAITORS. I AM NOT SUPPORTINT LUKE WORM RANIL EITHER.
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Namal Perera / April 18, 2013
The corrupt crazy Jokers are paying the penalty for two major blunders among many. The most stupid was the illegal arrest, fabricated charges and use of Kangaroo Courts to imprison the War Hero and the main opposition candidate at the last Presidential election. To add to this the Jokers illegally impeached the Chief Justice to plant a political stooge and the whole Country is paying for the stupidity of the crazy Jokers. Democratic Sri Lanka once respected by the entire World is no more. God save former democratic Sri Lanka.
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / April 18, 2013
The Bribery Commission has instructed the Immigration and Emigration department to impound CJ Shirani Bandaranayke’s passport. Her travails are not at an end yet.
Dr.Rajasingham Narendran
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Dev / April 18, 2013
You promised a ‘public fund’ to help her at the height of the impeachment crisis (all the while shouting to the heavens about the injustice )—impeachment over, you have quietly dropped the public fund………this gives a good idea how much “help” you are providing us Tamils in the North ! You claim to but like the public fund for Shirani this is also probably all talk !!!
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Sadmemories / April 18, 2013
Where did you get the latest from ?
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Thesailangkymannan Thamothirampillai / April 18, 2013
This Commonwealth Club is responsible to identify so many serious mistakes purposely made to make the divide and rule policy of the British colonialism to succeed in the past.These are like time bombs left in countries to blow up the peace of those countries. So that the British will be called to intervene into their internal affairs thereby they can safe guard their vested interests, the British left. Sri Lanka is a good example to prove that fact.
If Commonwealth Club is their to prove its worthiness they should set up an early warning mechanism to identify the serious internal racial problems of the commonwealth countries to address them before they explode as a genocide.This is to avoid harm and destruction to the life of innocent people. If the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Charter is not properly implemented within the Commonwealth countries the club will loose its purpose.Therefore it is essential that this charter has to be incorporated in the constitutions of all the commonwealth countries and also into the school curriculum at all levels including in the Universities.
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Jayantha / April 18, 2013
The only mistake British did was to unite Sri Lanka under one flag, where before it was governing by many kings whom many were from South India.
British gave the country to Respectable Sinhala Buddhist leaders, but later the leadership was stolen by an absolute Alibaba thug Moron Fake Sinhala Buddhist bast….d is the problem we face now.
The ever uneducated but a world famous crook has already ruined the country economically, politically, socially while dividing it on Religious and racial lines.
Yes, the best thing that EU,CW,UN and world community could do is to Suspend Sri Lanka from the world body and make a travel ban on all GOSL crooks for making our Beautiful country a Thieves and corruptors den while people are crossing oceans in boats trying to flee Sri Lanka.
It’s time to Impeach the crook Mafia, cartel family dictators.
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Ramanan / April 18, 2013
” make a travel ban on all GOSL crooks”
Even with this in place the ever resourceful Mahinda will find ways to circumvent the ban in order to travel to western nations. Like Mugabe, he will be attending random events like the pope’s funeral in Vatican City and attempt to shake the hands of western leaders (who will be too distracted to realise who’s hand they are shaking) so it can be photographed thus allowing Gota to photocopy it and stick it on some election poster for the gullible southern masses to devour. Obviously for such a scheme to work MR will need to lose his distinctive white dress and red scarf
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Safa / April 18, 2013
MP must be attending this conference in South Africa. Real shame to have this resolution passed in his presence.
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Kumar Senadirajah / April 18, 2013
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Citizen silva / April 22, 2013
Our people have such short memories.
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