Colombo,
January
15, 2013 | The Hindu
Despite international
criticism over the dismissal of former Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, and
protest by lawyers, Sri Lanka's former attorney general Mohan Peiris, who has
never been on the Bench, has been appointed the new Chief Justice.
“[Mr.] Peiris took oaths
as the new chief justice before President Mahinda Rajapaksa this afternoon [on Tuesday]
at Temple Trees,” said a release from the Office of the Presidential
Spokesperson. “Mr. Peiris joined the Department of the Attorney General in 1981
as a state counsel and served as a senior state counsel for approximately 15
years. He was appointed the 25th attorney general in December of 2008,” the
release added. Earlier in the day, parliament had approved his appointment.
Last Friday, parliament
had voted to impeach the country’s first
woman Chief Justice, Ms.Bandaranayake by a two-thirds majority, despite a Court
quashing the basis of the impeachment motion, a report of a parliamentary
select committee. Ms.Bandaranayake, the youngest judge when appointed to the
Supreme Court, had never been part of the Bar ahead of becoming a judge.
CPA files complaint
Just before Mr.Peiris
was sworn, in a local think-tank, the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA),
said that it had filed a complaint in the Supreme Court challenging his
appointment. It added that they were also asking the court to restrain
Mr.Peiris from performing any official duties as Chief Justice.
Elsewhere, lawyers
continued to protest by lighting candles outside courts. Entry to area near the
Supreme Court was controlled and a large contingent of police and security
forces kept a close watch. Meanwhile, Ms.Bandaranayake moved out of her
official residence, even as police officials told newsmen outside her official
residence that she should not address them since she was not Chief Justice any
longer.
Mr.Peiris, till now the
senior legal adviser to the cabinet, has been in the forefront of defending Sri
Lanka in international fora against charges of human rights violations in the
last stages of the war against Tamil Tigers in 2009, including at the United
Nations Human Rights Council. His conflicting comments on cartoonist Prageeth
Eknelygoda, who disappeared in January 2010 here, had drawn serious criticism
from many organisations, including the Committee to Protect Journalists.
“Peiris…has made conflicting statements about missing journalist Prageeth
Eknelygoda…Peiris's statements highlight the disregard with which the
government views international opinion,” CPJ said.
Serious questions
Answering questions,
U.S. State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland said that the U.S. had
repeatedly conveyed to Sri Lanka its concern that there was a lack of due
process. “We’ve also made very clear our view that actions undermining an
independent judiciary would impact on Sri Lanka’s ability to attract foreign
investment…The United Kingdom, Canada, the European Union, and the United
Nations have all issued statements expressing strong concerns about this
process,” she added.
Asked if Sri Lanka was
moving towards an authoritarian regime, she said: “We think that there are
serious questions about the health and future of Sri Lanka’s democracy.”
