By Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez
Thursday, December 13, 2012
COLOMBO
(Reuters) - Sri Lankan lawyers boycotted courts on Wednesday, crippling the
judicial system in protest at what they call unfair impeachment moves against
the chief justice.
A
parliamentary panel found the first woman to lead Sri Lanka's Supreme Court,
Shirani Bandaranayake, guilty last week of financial irregularities and failing
to declare her assets.
The
United States, United Nations and Commonwealth have raised concerns about the
process -- which could see parliament voting next month on whether to sack her
-- and have called on the government to ensure the independence of the judiciary.
"Lawyers
are staging a protest today in protest that the chief justice had not got an
impartial, just and fair trial," said Wijedasa Rajapaksa, an opposition
legislator and the president of the lawyers' Bar Association.
Hundreds
of lawyers in official uniform marched in different parts of the island nation.
Some
carried placards reading "hands off from judiciary" and "today
judiciary, tomorrow?", while others put up posters warning of the risks
from what they called an unfair trial.
Impeachment
moves began after Bandaranayake ruled against a bill proposing a budget of 80
billion rupees (380 million pounds) for development, saying it had to be
approved by nine provincial councils.
The
ruling angered some of President Mahinda Rajapaksa's backers, who accused the
judiciary of overstepping its authority, while Bandaranayake's supporters
complained of political interference.
The
ruling party filed a motion against Bandaranayake last month.
Parliament
is expected to vote on the panel's finding in January. The president, whose
party has more than two thirds of the 225 seats, needs just a plain majority to
remove her from her post.
Saliya
Pieris, a lawyer who represented her at the panel, issued a statement on behalf
of the chief justice saying she could have proven her innocence but had not
been allowed to cross-examine witnesses.
Parliament
speaker Chamal Rajapaksa, the president's brother, appointed the panel, seven
of whose 11 members were from the ruling party, to investigate 14 charges
against Bandaranayake. On Friday she was found guilty on three of the first
five charges.
The
four opposition members on the panel quit on Friday, before its ruling, citing
injustice, and the entire opposition party left the parliamentary chamber en
masse. A day earlier Bandaranayake withdrew from the proceedings.
Lawyers
and rights groups have challenged the legality of the select committee in the
courts.
Diplomats
who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said the impeachment process was
without due process or transparency.
"This
gives the effect that the executive can do anything in the supreme court using
its parliamentary two-thirds majority," one diplomat from a European
country said.
"We
don't have any problem with removing the chief justice. But we are concerned on
the process."
(Writing
by Shihar Aneez, edited by Richard Meares)
Copyright © 2012 Reuters
