Colombo: The International Commission of Jurists has condemned the appointment of a trusted aide of Sri Lanka`s President as the country`s chief justice and urged the government to reinstate the former top judge who was fired after a highly criticised impeachment process.
The group denounced the appointment of Mohan Peiris, a retired attorney general and a legal adviser to the Cabinet, as chief justice, saying it "raises serious concerns about the future of the rule of law and accountability" and "a further assault on the independence of the judiciary."
Peiris was sworn in before President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday, two days after Shirani Bandaranayake was dismissed as chief justice after a parliamentary committee found her guilty of having unexplained wealth and misuse of power.
Bandaranayake denied the charges and accused the tribunal of not giving her a fair hearing. Courts have ruled in her favour, but the president and Parliament ignored the rulings.
"Mohan Peiris` appointment as the new chief justice, after a politically compromised and procedurally flawed impeachment, adds serious insult to the gross injury already inflicted on Sri Lanka`s long suffering judiciary," Sam Zarifi, ICJ`s Asia director, said in a statement on group`s web site.
He said during Peiris` tenure as attorney general and the government`s top legal adviser, he "consistently blocked efforts to hold the government responsible for serious human rights violations and disregarded international law and standards."
Rajapaksa`s critics say appointing a confidante to the post of chief justice gives him control over the judiciary as well as Parliament, where more than two-thirds of the 225 members support him.
Peiris has been prominent in defending Rajapaksa`s government from allegations of human rights violations and enforced disappearances.
The critics say replacing the chief justice is part of an effort to consolidate the government`s power in the hands of the president`s family. Rajapaksa`s older brother is the parliamentary speaker, and two of his younger brothers hold the powerful positions of economic development minister and defense secretary. Rajapaksa`s eldest son is a lawmaker.
Many prominent lawyers in Sri Lanka have already said they still recognise Bandaranayake as the chief justice and have written to senior judges urging them not to recognise a new appointee.
Yesterday, a local political think tank, the Center for Policy Alternatives, and its executive director filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging Peiris` appointment.
PTI
