News

News

Editors tell BASL president
Stop pontificating, first put your house in order
The Editors' Guild of Sri Lanka has said the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka might serve the public better by putting his own house in order before pontificating about other professions.
The statement issued by the Guild said:

The attention of The Editors' Guild of Sri Lanka has been drawn to the formal address of the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, Mr. Ikram Mohammed PC, at the ceremonial sitting welcoming the new Court of Appeal Judge Sundaram Sriskandarajah on Tuesday, July 13.

In the course of his address, the President of the BASL has stated, inter-alia, that the courts must take " all steps necessary" to safeguard and maintain the independence of the judiciary.

He then proceeded to say that irresponsible and false reports against judicial officers have been published in the media, and warned that unless this situation is arrested, it would lead to an erosion of public confidence in the judiciary.

He then went on to invite the attention of the Court to the powers vested in the Court by Article 105 (3) of the Constitution, and urged the Court to invoke such provisions to punish such offending persons for contempt of court in the interests of the Judiciary, and public confidence, in the judicial system.

In his homily about the interests of the Judiciary and public confidence in the judicial system, the President of the BASL has, however, failed to mention a single instance of such irresponsible and false reporting.

The Editors' Guild is of the view that these are the personal views of the President of the BASL, made for reasons best known, and do not reflect the views of the General Membership of the Bar Association. The Guild condemns his totally unsubstantiated remarks, and his wholly unwarranted appeal to the Courts to punish journalists, among others.

The Guild is mindful of the deterioration of public confidence in the Independence of the Judiciary and in the judicial system, and refers the President of the BASL to the recent study by the Marga Institute which interviewed lawyers, litigants, judges and court officials among others, have concluded in a report titled ' A system under siege - an inquiry into the Judicial System of Sri Lanka 2002' that lawyers were themselves partly to blame for this erosion of public confidence. The President of the BASL might serve the public better by putting his own house in order before pontificating about other professions.

For many years, the administration of justice is "undoubtedly a matter of public interest and ....therefore fair matter for public comment" per Cockburn CJ in Hibbons Vs. Lee (1864) 11 LT 541 at 542. While it is well accepted that the Judiciary and the judicial system require protection from scurrilous attacks upon it, "Justice is not a cloistered virtue, she must be allowed to suffer the scrutiny and respectful, even though outspoken comments of ordinary men" per Lord Atkin (1928) 44 TLR 301.

Meanwhile, The Guild reiterates its long-standing call for a Contempt of Court Act as is found in many democratic countries like Britain and India. It urges the new Parliament to revive the Select Committee chaired by Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar PC, MP that looked into this matter, having begun the process of calling for public representations, and also supports the revival of the Select Committee that was appointed during the sessions of the 12th Parliament to reach an all-party consensus on reforming the judicial system in the country.

Top

Back to News