Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative in Geneva Ravinatha Aryasinha yesterday said that Sri Lanka has taken a number of steps to uphold the independence of the judiciary and lawyers since the 2015 Presidential election.
He said that Parliament of Sri Lanka enacted the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, introduced Constitutional safeguards to uphold the independence of the judiciary and the Bar.
“The most significant among these are “ safeguard to the process of appointment of senior judges: appointment of the Attorney General and the Attorney General’s Department and the appointment of the members to the Judicial Services Commission,”he said.
Aryasinha was speaking at the interactive dialogue on the report of the former Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers Monica Pinto at the 35th regular session of UN Human Rights Council in Geneva yesterday. The report prepared by former Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers Monica Pinto following a visit to Sri Lanka was presented to the Council by her successor Diego Garcia-Sayan.
Pinto undertook an official visit to Sri Lanka, at the invitation of the Government , together with the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment from April 29 to May 07, 2016.
“In keeping with government’s commitment to transparency and open engagement , the Speical Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers was granted unrestricted and unhindered access to all the places that she wished to visit, and every effort was taken to facilitate practically all the meetings that Pinto requested with the government officials”, he said
He said that the appointment of the Attorney General by the President is subject to the approval of the Constitutional Council in terms of the 19th Amendment.
“Previously, the President had the authority to appoint the Attorney General on the observations of the Parliamentary Council,” Aryasinha said.
Aryasinha stated that the report compiled by Pinto reflects how the country has adopted many positive rebuilding mechanisms towards protecting the independence of the legal system, and that the 19th Amendment made to the Constitution gives it predominance over other matters.
He added that many senior judges,along with members of the Legal and Judiciary Committees in the country have been appointed independently.