{"id":59501,"date":"2012-11-09T21:46:43","date_gmt":"2012-11-09T21:46:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=59501"},"modified":"2012-11-13T15:49:41","modified_gmt":"2012-11-13T15:49:41","slug":"wikileaks-the-only-supreme-court-justice-who-dares-challenge-sarath-silva-is-shirani-bandaranayake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wikileaks-the-only-supreme-court-justice-who-dares-challenge-sarath-silva-is-shirani-bandaranayake\/","title":{"rendered":"WikiLeaks: The Only Supreme Court Justice Who Dares Challenge Sarath Silva Is Shirani Bandaranayake"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\">Colombo Telegraph<\/a><\/span> &#8211;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Aziz told us that never in the judiciary&#8217;s history has there been a chief justice with such absolute control over the rest of the country&#8217;s judges. Aziz and Pieris said De Silva is charismatic, cunning, and vindictive, as well as one of the great legal minds of Sri Lanka, making him the last person anybody wants to challenge. From the Supreme Court down to the Magistrate Courts, De Silva dominates. Although there are 11 other Supreme Court justices, the Chief Justice chooses which ones sit on a given bench (usually consisting of three judges per case). Aziz said De Silva picks the most compliant judges regardless of their seniority.&#8221; the US Embassy Colombo informed Washington.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_59505\" style=\"width: 210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wikileaks-the-only-supreme-court-justice-who-dares-challenge-sarath-silva-is-shirani-bandaranayake\/sarath-silva-1\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-59505\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-59505\" class=\"size-full wp-image-59505\" title=\"Sarath Silva 1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Sarath-Silva-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"206\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-59505\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Silva<\/p><\/div>\n<p>A Leaked \u201cCONFIDENTIAL\u201d US diplomatic cable, dated June 27, 2007, updated the Secretary of State on Sri Lanka\u2019s Judiciary under the Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva details Silva\u2019s judicial behaviour. The\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/colombotelegraph.com\/\"><strong>Colombo Telegraph<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeaks database. The cable was written by the charge d\u2019affairs James R. Moore.<\/p>\n<p>The cable\u00a0which details the US meetings with a former Attorney General, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=Shibly+Aziz&amp;x=11&amp;y=11\">Shibly Aziz<\/a><\/span> and a prominent private attorney,\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=Saliya+Pieris&amp;x=11&amp;y=10\">Saliya Pieris<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Under the subheading &#8220;Only De \u00a0Silva Matters&#8221; \u00a0\u00a0James R. Moore wrote &#8221; Pieris\u00a0told us that even when De Silva is not personally on the bench, the Supreme Court justices make decisions approved by De Silva. Pieris said the only Supreme Court justice who dares challenge De Silva, Dr. <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=Shirani+Bandaranayake&amp;x=7&amp;y=9\">Shirani Bandaranayake<\/a><\/span> who is second in seniority, has now been marginalized. Aziz and Pieris point to the small number of dissenting opinions written during De Silva&#8217;s tenure as further evidence of his dominance.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Pieris also said that De Silva uses punishments and rewards to get what he wants. Pieris claimed he disbars lawyers who criticize him and withholds career opportunities from his adversaries. Transparency International noted in its 2007 report on Sri Lanka: &#8220;Judges who do not tow the political line are warned, and if incorrigible, are dismissed on one pretext or another. Conversely, judges who are politically in line with the administration are shielded from disciplinary action despite evidence of corrupt practices, including bribe taking&#8230;&#8221; Although no one openly opposes him, Pieris said, judges at all levels privately say they are unhappy.&#8221;\u00a0Moore further wrote.<\/p>\n<p>We below give the\u00a0relevant part of the cable;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<pre>VZCZCXRO7207\r\nOO RUEHBI RUEHLMC\r\nDE RUEHLM #0920\/01 1781329\r\nZNY CCCCC ZZH\r\nO 271329Z JUN 07\r\nFM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO\r\nTO RUEHC\/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6359\r\nINFO RUEHRL\/AMEMBASSY BERLIN PRIORITY 0479\r\nRUEHKA\/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 0240\r\nRUEHIL\/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 7223\r\nRUEHKT\/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 5328\r\nRUEHLO\/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 3868\r\nRUEHNE\/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 1142\r\nRUEHNY\/AMEMBASSY OSLO PRIORITY 3941\r\nRUEHKO\/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 3025\r\nRUEHCG\/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 7811\r\nRUEHBI\/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 5467\r\nRUEHON\/AMCONSUL TORONTO PRIORITY 0279\r\nRUEHGV\/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 2163\r\nRHHMUNA\/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY\r\nRHEFDIA\/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY\r\nRHEHAAA\/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY\r\nRUEHBS\/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY\r\nRUEHLMC\/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION PRIORITY<\/pre>\n<pre>C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 COLOMBO 000920 \r\n\r\nSIPDIS \r\n\r\nSIPDIS \r\n\r\nDEPARTMENT FOR SCA\/INS\r\nMCC FOR D NASSIRY AND E BURKE \r\n\r\nE.O. 12958: DECL: 06\/25\/2017\r\nTAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM MOPS CE\r\nSUBJECT: AMBITIOUS CHIEF JUSTICE BREAKS AWAY FROM PRESIDENT \r\n\r\nREF: A. (A) COLOMBO 00824\r\n     \u00b6B. (B) COLOMBO 00265\r\n     \u00b6C. (C) COLOMBO 00152 \r\n\r\nClassified By: charge d'affairs James R. Moore, for reasons 1.4(b,d). \r\n\r\n\u00b61. (C) SUMMARY:  In a shift from regularly supporting the\r\nPresident in its rulings, the Supreme Court, headed by Chief\r\nJustice Sarath De Silva, made several decisions this month\r\nthat the public widely hailed as justice served by a newly\r\nindependent judiciary.  Legal experts say, however, that\r\nwhile they are also pleased with the recent rulings, they are\r\nless the result of an improved judiciary, than a product of\r\nDe Silva's political ambitions and new alliances.  Earlier in\r\nthe year, international organizations expressed concerns over\r\nDe Silva's influence over the judiciary in annual reports and\r\nrecommended inquiries into the allegations that De Silva\r\nunfairly manipulated decisions.  Though he would like to, it\r\nis unlikely the President will be able to oust De Silva\r\nbefore he retires from the Court in 2009.  Meanwhile, legal\r\nobservers continue to worry about De Silva's potential impact\r\non the judiciary and the peace process.   End Summary<\/pre>\n<pre>ONLY DE SILVA MATTERS \r\n\r\nCOLOMBO 00000920  003 OF 004 \r\n\r\n--------------------- \r\n\r\n\u00b66. (C)  Aziz told us that never in the judiciary's history\r\nhas there been a chief justice with such absolute control\r\nover the rest of the country's judges.  Aziz and Pieris said\r\nDe Silva is charismatic, cunning, and vindictive, as well as\r\none of the great legal minds of Sri Lanka, making him the\r\nlast person anybody wants to challenge.  From the Supreme\r\nCourt down to the Magistrate Courts, De Silva dominates.\r\nAlthough there are 11 other Supreme Court justices, the Chief\r\nJustice chooses which ones sit on a given bench (usually\r\nconsisting of three judges per case).  Aziz said De Silva\r\npicks the most compliant judges regardless of their\r\nseniority.  Pieris told us that even when De Silva is not\r\npersonally on the bench, the Supreme Court justices make\r\ndecisions approved by De Silva.   Pieris said the only\r\nSupreme Court justice who dares challenge De Silva, Dr.\r\nShirani Bandaranayake who is second in seniority, has now\r\nbeen marginalized.  Aziz and Pieris point to the small number\r\nof dissenting opinions written during De Silva's tenure as\r\nfurther evidence of his dominance. \r\n\r\n\u00b67. (C)  Pieris also said that De Silva uses punishments and\r\nrewards to get what he wants.  Pieris claimed he disbars\r\nlawyers who criticize him and withholds career opportunities\r\nfrom his adversaries.  Transparency International noted in\r\nits 2007 report on Sri Lanka: \"Judges who do not tow the\r\npolitical line are warned, and if incorrigible, are dismissed\r\non one pretext or another.  Conversely, judges who are\r\npolitically in line with the administration are shielded from\r\ndisciplinary action despite evidence of corrupt practices,\r\nincluding bribe taking...\"  Although no one openly opposes\r\nhim, Pieris said, judges at all levels privately say they are\r\nunhappy.<\/pre>\n<div>Related posts;<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a title=\"\u2018I Have No Objection Against The Impeachment\u2019 Says The Most Corrupt Chief Justice\" href=\"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/i-have-no-objection-against-the-impeachment-says-the-most-corrupt-chief-justice\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">\u2018I Have No Objection Against The Impeachment\u2019 Says The Most Corrupt Chief Justice<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":59505,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2187,1,2375,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-most-popular","category-news","category-stories","category-wikileaks"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - 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