Sri Lanka's president completed the controversial
impeachment of the chief justice by choosing a successor Monday, his spokesman
said, as lawyers vowed to keep up a battle for judicial independence.
President Mahinda
Rajapakse nominated a new chief justice who is expected to be confirmed by a
parliamentary panel on Tuesday, his spokesman Mohan Samaranayake said.
Rajapakse selected the
successor to Shirani Bandaranayake, the first woman chief justice, after she
was removed by him Sunday following an impeachment declared illegal and
unconstitutional by the highest courts in the country.
"The president sent
his nominee to the parliamentary committee today," Samaranayake told AFP.
He declined to name the new chief justice, but added: "I can say that it
is most likely to be Mr. Mohan Peiris."
Peiris retired two years
ago as the country's attorney general, but has since been the senior legal
advisor to the cabinet of ministers in addition to being a key defender of Sri
Lanka's record at UN human rights sessions.
The announcement came
hours after the Lawyers' Collective, which includes most of Sri Lanka's 11,000
attorneys, said they would contest through the courts any appointment to
replace Bandaranayake after her "purported impeachment."
"We will use all
legal avenues to challenge this purported impeachment," Lawyers'
Collective spokesman J. C. Weliamuna told reporters in Colombo.
Bandaranayake's lawyers
said she had no immediate comment.
"The government
wanted her out because she remained independent and did not do their
bidding," Weliamuna said. "This is not a matter that affects only her
and the legal fraternity but the democratic rights of all citizens."
Rajapakse's office in a
statement insisted he had acted in line with the constitution.
"There may be
imperfections with our constitution," the statement quoted Rajapakse as
saying. "No country has a constitution that is perfect, but we have to
follow it.
Rajapakse, who has
consolidated his hold on power after crushing Tamil rebels in a major offensive
in May 2009, brushed aside international calls for restraint and sacked
Bandaranayake who would have had another 11 years in office.
The main opposition
United National Party has rejected the sacking while the Commonwealth, the
United States, Britain and Canada have expressed concern over the impeachment
as a blow to the rule of law and good governance.
The US reiterated its
concerns Tuesday when State Department spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland, said:
"From our perspective, this impeachment raises serious questions about the
separation of powers in Sri Lanka, which is a fundamental tenet of a healthy
democracy."
Lawmakers found
Bandaranayake guilty of tampering with a case involving a company from which
her sister bought an apartment, of failing to declare dormant bank accounts,
and of staying in office while her husband faced a bribery charge.
