Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) President Rajeev Amarasuriya said that if the President believes there is a risk, the answer is not to proceed with the proposed extension of the retirement age of judges.
Speaking to the media, Amarasuriya said there are areas where governments had to take risks, including in development, international relations and policymaking, but judicial independence was a fundamental principle that should not be compromised.
“If the President thinks there is a risk here, the answer is not to proceed with this,” Amarasuriya said.
Amarasuriya said the BASL and other stakeholders should continue discussions with the government to determine what was best for the country, rather than treating the issue as a confrontation.
“We must agree to disagree” and try to reach some middle ground, he said, adding that he remained hopeful that the government would reconsider the proposal and arrive at a suitable position.
He said the BASL was not currently engaged in a fight with the government but would oppose the proposal firmly if necessary and use all means available within its limits to prevent a move it believed could undermine judicial independence.
Responding to a question about whether he believed the government might withdraw the proposal, Amarasuriya said he could not predict President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s decision.
He said it would be disrespectful for him to speculate on what the president might decide, adding that he remained optimistic that the two sides could reach an understanding.
Referring to the president’s comments that meaningful change sometimes required taking risks, Amarasuriya said he had directly told the president that there were matters where taking risks was necessary.
“However, judicial independence is a noble concept. It is above everything else,” he said.
Amarasuriya said risks could be taken in areas such as economic development and policy decisions, but not where there was a possibility of undermining the independence of the judiciary.
“If there is a chance that judicial independence could be harmed or lost, I think that would be a very serious problem for all of us,” he said. (Newswire)