January
15, 2013 | The Hindu
The following is the
full text of Shirani Bandaranayake, the 43rd Chief Justice of the Democratic
Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Full text of statement
put out by Sri Lankan Chief Justice, Shirani Bandaranayake:
“I am the 43rd Chief
Justice of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. As the Chief
Justice, I have an obligation and an unwavering duty towards the judges,
lawyers and the citizens at large of my country.
“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 Justice of the Republic should be subjected to. The 32 years of
continuous service at the University of Colombo and the Supreme Court, during
my 54 year lifespan, I have rendered in varying capacities towards my
motherland, is rewarded unfortunately, in this unjust manner.
“Though I was accused
and arbitrarily convicted by the Parliamentary Select Committee, I have been
vindicated in the bastions of the law. I take solace in the fact that, the due
process and the rules of natural justice of which I was and continue to be an
advocate and a firm believer, have been upheld by the superior courts of this
country. The Supreme Court, acknowledged by the Hon. Speaker as having the sole
and exclusive jurisdiction in interpreting matters relating to the
Constitution, in its recent 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 and
have no force or validity in law.
“In the circumstances,
in my country which is a democracy, where the rule of law is the underlying
threshold upon which basic liberties exist, I still am the duly appointed
legitimate Chief Justice.
“It is not only the
office of Chief Justice, but also the very independence of the judiciary, that
has been usurped. The very tenor of rule of law, natural justice and judicial
abeyance has not only been ousted, but brutally mutilated.
“I have suffered because
I stood for an independent judiciary and withstood the pressures. It is the
People who are supreme and the Constitution of the Republic recognizes the rule
of law and if that rule of law had prevailed, I would not have been punished
unjustly.
“The accusations
levelled against me are blatant lies. I am totally innocent of all charges and
had there been a semblance of truth in any allegation, I would not have
remained even for a moment in the august office of the Chief Justice. I can
stand before you today as the Chief Justice, a citizen and a human being,
purely because of that very innocence.
“Since it now appears
that there might be violence if I remain in my official residence or my
chambers I am compelled to move out of my official residence and chambers
particularly because the violence is directed at innocent people including
judges, lawyers and committed members of the public.
“The 16 years I have
spent in the Supreme Court have been dedicated to uphold the rights of the
people in this country. I have always considered it my solemn duty to protect,
to the best of my ability, the life and liberty of human beings and the rights
of children and their education. I have always acted to that end.
“I thank all those who
stood with me and the greater cause to fight for the independence of the
judiciary.
“Even though I have not
been meted out with justice today; time and nature will justify what I have
done and what I and others who shared my beliefs have stood for.
Many will come and many
will go. What matters is not the person who is the incumbent custodian of this
position. What matters is the continued existence of an independent judiciary.”
