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C'wealth rejects CJ probe request
By Neville de Silva in London
The Commonwealth Secretariat has spiked a request by the Sri Lanka Government to help set up a panel of judges from Commonwealth member-states to hear allegations against judges of the supreme court or higher courts in Sri Lanka.

The Secretariat has informally told the Government that its request is "unprecedented" and indicated that it did not want to be a part of it, Commonwealth sources said.

At present allegations against judges of the higher courts in Sri Lanka are inquired into by parliament under provisions of the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is said to have made the proposal to have Commonwealth judges in order to give such inquiries greater credibility and remove any charges of political bias.

While the Commonwealth Secretariat provides assistance to member countries by providing expertise in law drafting, understanding trade laws and regulations of the World Trade Organisation and in honing the negotiating skills of countries that still lack them in a world of globalised trade, it wishes to stay away from involvement in inquiries into Commonwealth judges.

Some years ago, when Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad called for the help of judges from the Commonwealth to sit on a panel inquiring into the conduct of a Malaysian judge, the secretariat is believed to have informally advised member governments against acceding to the request.

However, President J. R. Jayewardene is understood to have ignored Secretariat advice and nominated Chief Justice Parinda Ranasinghe to the panel. If the government wishes to go ahead with the idea of Commonwealth judges hearing allegations, it might still approach individual Commonwealth countries. But informed sources believe the government might now turn to other sources if it still insists on proceeding with it.

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