{"id":69684,"date":"2013-01-15T12:25:56","date_gmt":"2013-01-15T12:25:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=69684"},"modified":"2013-01-24T11:32:55","modified_gmt":"2013-01-24T11:32:55","slug":"i-stand-here-before-you-today-having-been-unjustly-persecuted-vilified-and-condemned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/i-stand-here-before-you-today-having-been-unjustly-persecuted-vilified-and-condemned\/","title":{"rendered":"I Stand Here Before You Today Having Been Unjustly Persecuted"},"content":{"rendered":"

I Stand Here Before You Today Having Been Unjustly Persecuted, Vilified And Condemned<\/strong><\/p>\n

By\u00a0Shirani Bandaranayake<\/a><\/span> –<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Chief Justice Dr Shirani Bandaranayake<\/p><\/div>\n

I am the 43rd Chief Justice of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. As the Chief Justice, I\u00a0have an obligation and an unwavering duty towards the judges, lawyers and the citizens at large of \u00a0my country.<\/p>\n

I stand here before you today having been unjustly persecuted, vilified and condemned. The treatment meted out to me in the past few weeks, was an ordeal no citizen let alone the Chief \u00a0Justice of the Republic should be subjected to. The 32 years of continuous service at the University\u00a0of Colombo and the Supreme Court, during my 54 year lifespan, I have rendered in varying capacities \u00a0towards my motherland, is rewarded unfortunately, in this unjust manner.<\/p>\n

Though I was accused and arbitrarily convicted by the Parliamentary Select Committee, I have been \u00a0vindicated in the bastions of the law. I take solace in the fact that, the due process and the rules of <\/span>natural justice of which I was and continue to be an advocate and a firm believer, have been upheld\u00a0<\/span>by the superior courts of this country. The Supreme Court, acknowledged by the Hon. Speaker as\u00a0<\/span>having the sole and exclusive jurisdiction in interpreting matters relating to the Constitution, in its \u00a0recent interpretation, unequivocally declared that the PSC and its proceedings therein were unconstitutional and illegal. Moreover, a Writ of Certiorari was issued by the Court of Appeal quashing the findings of the PSC. Therefore, the decisions of the PSC are ultra-vires, null and void\u00a0<\/span>and have no force or validity in law.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the circumstances, in my country which is a democracy, where the rule of law is the underlying \u00a0m\u00a0threshold upon which basic liberties exist, I still am the duly appointed legitimate Chief Justice.\u00a0It is not only the office of Chief Justice, but also the very independence of the judiciary, that has \u00a0been usurped. The very tenor of rule of law, natural justice and judicial abeyance has not only been \u00a0ousted, but brutally mutilated.<\/p>\n

I have suffered because I stood for an independent judiciary and withstood the pressures. It is the \u00a0People who are supreme and the Constitution of the Republic recognizes the rule of law and if that \u00a0rule of law had prevailed, I would not have been punished unjustly.<\/p>\n

The accusations levelled against me are blatant lies. I am totally innocent of all charges and had \u00a0there been a semblance of truth in any allegation, I would not have remained even for a moment in \u00a0the august office of the Chief Justice. I can stand before you today as the Chief Justice, a citizen and a \u00a0human being, purely because of that very innocence.<\/p>\n

Since it now appears that there might be violence if I remain in my official residence or my chambers
\nI am compelled to move out of my official residence and chambers particularly because the violence \u00a0is directed at innocent people including judges, lawyers and committed members of the public.\u00a0The 16 years I have spent in the Supreme Court have been dedicated to uphold the rights of the \u00a0people in this country. I have always considered it my solemn duty to protect, to the best of my \u00a0ability, the life and liberty of human beings and the rights of children and their education. I have \u00a0always acted to that end.<\/p>\n

I thank all those who stood with me and the greater cause to fight for the independence of the\u00a0judiciary.Even though I have not been meted out with justice today; time and nature will justify what I have \u00a0done and what I and others who shared my beliefs have stood for.\u00a0Many will come and many will go. What matters is not the person who is the incumbent custodian of \u00a0this position. What matters is the continued existence of an independent judiciary.
\nThank you.
\nDr. Shirani A. Bandaranayake
\nThe 43rd Chief Justice of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
\n15thJanuary 2013<\/p>\n

Read the speech in Tamil here<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Read the speech in Sinhala here<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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