News
Two Supreme Court judges may face impeachment
The Government has decided to impeach a Supreme Court judge for misbehaviour if the court action he is now facing is upheld.
This is while another colleague has come under close investigation after allegations that the spouse ran a consultancy firm. The activities of the firm had been allegedly linked to the work of the judge in question.
The move, an authoritative source said yesterday, was to ensure greater discipline and professional conduct among judges.
For the impeachment of the judge in question, President Maithripala Sirisena is to follow procedures laid out in the Constitution when the case against the judge is concluded. The Constitution says that an appellate court judge “shall not be removed except by an order of the President made after an address of Parliament…” An impeachment motion would have to be supported by a “majority of the total number of Members of Parliament (including those not present) and has to be presented to the President for such removal on the grounds of proved misbehaviour or incapacity.”
The conduct of the Supreme Court Judge came into public focus after the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) investigated allegations that he harassed his domestic aide. The CID had filed a report in the Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s
Court over his conduct. The judge has been granted bail after he surrendered to court and the case is now pending.
The need to ‘clean up’ the judiciary of errant judges was the subject of a top level discussion by Government leaders recently. Government concerns have been heightened after the OISL report (conducted by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva) cast doubts on Sri Lanka’s judicial system and recommended “hybrid special courts.” A number of questionable rulings were raised during discussions where legal advisers said there were alleged “irregularities or unprofessional conduct.”