The country’s High Court judges and magistrates were summoned by the Judicial Services Commission on Friday to discuss the current COVID-19 situation and the functioning of the courts during the pandemic. The issue of trade union protests and the role of the courts also came up for discussion at the meeting presided over by Chief [...]

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High Court judges, magistrates summoned by JSC for briefing on health issues

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The country’s High Court judges and magistrates were summoned by the Judicial Services Commission on Friday to discuss the current COVID-19 situation and the functioning of the courts during the pandemic.

The issue of trade union protests and the role of the courts also came up for discussion at the meeting presided over by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya at the Sri Lanka Judges Institute. Several judges attended the meeting online.

Health officials, including Health Services Director General Dr Asela Gunawardena and the National Institute of Infectious Disease’s Senior Consultant Physician Dr Ananda Wijewickrema, briefed the judges on the pandemic and the implications. The judges had been requested to attend the seminar under the topic of ‘Matters relating to judicial proceedings in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic’. Attendance was compulsory.

The issues concerning large scale demonstrations and public gatherings, especially the spread of the COVID-19 virus, had been explained by the health officials.

The meeting came in the wake of a string of recent protests by various trade unions including teachers, farmers, fishermen and rights groups.

Police have sought court orders in some of the instances to ban the protests, but the Magistrates have given mixed orders on the issue.

Some of them have banned the protests while others have refused to grant the request by the police to stop the protests on the grounds that people have the right to protest.

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