Former BAR Association President and President’s Counsel Saliya Peiris has criticized the recent actions of the Police for publicly questioning the suspect arrested in the Weligama Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Lasantha Wickramasekara’s murder case.

His remarks come after a video showing Police officers interrogating the suspect soon after his arrest went viral on social media.

Peiris said arrests and criminal investigations must be conducted strictly in accordance with the procedure established by law. He warned that parading suspects before the media, getting them to make statements, and circulating such footage may excite some sections of the public but would ultimately harm the prosecution once the trial begins.

“These childish acts do not enhance the image of the Police and are counterproductive. It calls into question the professionalism of the investigators and brings disrepute to the whole system,” he added.

Peiris emphasized that adherence to due process and maintaining the integrity of investigations are vital to ensuring justice and preserving public confidence in law enforcement. (Newswire)

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By Former BASL President, Saliya Peiris

From the election results so far, it is apparent that the National People’s Power (NPP) is on the threshold of obtaining a two-thirds majority in Parliament or falling slightly short. 

If the NPP gets a two-thirds majority, it is the first time under the Proportional Representation system that one party has got a two-thirds majority in Parliament. 

In 2010 the People’s Alliance and in 2020 the SLPP fell just short of two-thirds and had to get the support of some opposition members to get a two-thirds majority.

The only parallel for this victory is the Presidential elections of 1994 when Prime Minister Chandrika Kumaratunge was elected President.

The NPP has also made significant gains in the North and East which will enable the President to be a leader who can unite the diverse communities in Sri Lanka. 

The result will also pave the way for the NPP Government to quickly honour its promise to abolish the Executive Presidency.

The landslide win is a testament that most people are happy with the direction of the country since the election of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, especially the change in political culture.

However, the NPP must be wary of the pitfalls that come with great power. 

As the President himself had said yesterday in the past political forces used a two-thirds majority to enact laws which violated people’s democratic rights. The NPP will have to resist the temptation to enact laws and measures which will erode democratic rights and freedoms. 

The new regime will have to manage the extraordinary expectations of the electorate who expect it to develop the economy, uplift their lives, control inflation, tackle corruption, address the issues of national reconciliation, enact constitutional reform and uphold democracy and the rule of law. 

The NPP leadership will have to ensure that its new and relatively inexperienced MPs and Ministers do not stray away from the principled positions that the party has espoused so far and that they and their supporters do not violate the trust that the people have placed in them. No doubt the NPP leaders will remember the fate of past governments elected by the people with large majorities.

We must hope and wish that the new Government will be successful. Sri Lanka cannot afford for its Government to fail again. (Newswire)

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Irrespective of whatever the Cabinet of Ministers may decide, Deshabandu Tennekoon is now restrained by the Court from functioning as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) until the final determination of the cases, President’s Counsel Saliya Pieris said.

In a message on social media, the former President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) said this order of the Supreme Court is operative now and that orders of courts cannot be overturned by Cabinet decisions. 

President’s Counsel Saliya Pieris further clarified that Deshabandu Tennekoon can no longer exercise the powers or functions of the IGP. “Any attempt to defy the court order by any party will be contempt of court and will have no legal force,” he added. 

His comments come in response to news reports that the Cabinet of Ministers has decided to thoroughly study the Supreme Court order on the position of the IGP and its legal aspects, and will convey its decision within the next two days.

The Supreme Court yesterday issued an interim order preventing Deshabandu Tennakoon from performing duties in the post of IGP. 

The court also ordered the President to name a suitable person for the post, during the period of the interim order being enforced against Tennakoon.

The court order was issued after taking up for consideration nine petitions that had been filed by several parties, including Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, challenging the President’s decision to appoint Tennakoon as the IGP. (Newswire)

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President Ranil Wickremesinghe has refuted allegations raised by the Opposition that he violated an agreement they had with the BAR Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) during the political crisis in Sri Lanka in May last year.

Addressing the Parliament today (Nov 24), the President responded to allegations raised by Tamil National Alliance MP M.A. Sumanthiran, claiming that the President violated the agreement proposed by the BASL and took over the premiership under Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The President said that it was claimed that an agreement had been reached between former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, all political parties, and the BASL to first abolish the executive presidency.

It was also claimed that an agreement had also been reached among the groups to appoint a person outside the political arena as the Prime Minister by providing a National List seat to enter Parliament, he said.

The President, however, said he was not convened by the BASL or had signed any document, adding that the copy of the alleged document on the agreement mentioned by MP Sumanthiran had not contained any signatures, when he received it.

President Wickremesinghe revealed that some Opposition parliamentarians had met the BASL and held a discussion on how to resolve the political crisis, while the BASL had also met former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

“The discussion with Gotabaya Rajapaksa was not to offer the post of Prime Minister to the Opposition Leader, but to offer it to someone outside the political arena and to offer a National List seat to the selected person to enter Parliament,” he said.

The President further revealed that the BASL was under the impression that the role of Prime Minister would be offered to then BASL President Saliya Peiris, adding that, however, the incidents that took place at the Galle Face Green on May 09 changed the outcome.

Responding to the President’s claims, TNA MP Sumanthiran clarified that he had not claimed that political parties had signed the BASL document.

Taking to ‘X’, MP Sumanthiran pointed out that the President’s acknowledgement of receiving a copy of the said document confirms that there was in fact such a document.

“I thank @RW_UNP for confirming what I said in Parliament and further stating that the BASL document was discussed with @GotabayaR and other political party leaders and that even he had a copy of same. The insinuation he made against @saliyapieris was false and must be denounced,” he added. (NewsWire)

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President of the BAR Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) Saliya Peiris has responded to claims alleging that lawyers are representing criminals in judicial trials. 

Addressing an event in Colombo yesterday (23), Saliya Peiris, PC, said that the claims have been made as he had requested the President and the Constitutional Council to appoint an individual without any corruption allegations for the post of Inspector General of Police (IGP).

He further said that some people had thereafter accused lawyers and counsels of appearing for criminals in trials.

Saliya Peiris, PC, pointed out that institutional issues lead to the abuse of the law, adding that it has been proven that the Police are at the top most for the abuse of power in Sri Lanka, and this is proven by the multiple cases related to the abuse of suspects being heard in courts on a daily basis. 

He further said that any person, be it a criminal, a top official, or the public requires the assistance of lawyers and counsels to address their issues in courts, and that is what lawyers and counsels are doing by representing such people in need.

Questioning if a Police officer should be allowed to determine the life of an individual, Saliya Peiris, PC, said that the lawyers will not be pressured by social media posts and will continue with their task. (NewsWire)

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The BAR Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) has raised concerns over President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s recent comments in Parliament pertaining to President’s Counsel Saliya Peiris.

President Wickremesinghe had claimed that President’s Counsel Saliya Peiris was a ‘Political lawyer’ while commenting on the National Election Commission’s choice of counsel.

Issuing a statement, the BASL pointed out, “It is a basic right of any individual or corporate body to retain an Attorney-at-Law of their choice to represent their interests in legal proceedings and the members of the Bar have a duty to assist their clients before courts and other tribunals. This is a right of any person before the law, a professional duty of Attorneys-at-Law and a vital function to preserving the Rule of Law and the proper functioning of the legal system.”

The BASL also called upon the President and Members of Parliament to “exercise self-restraint” and to desist from making statements which will erode the confidence of the public in the legal system and undermine the independence of the judiciary both of which would ultimately lead to a serious erosion of the Rule of Law.

Full statement:

The Bar Council of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) on February 25th 2023 unanimously resolved to express its grave concern regarding the speech made by President Ranil Wickremesinghe in Parliament on 23rd February 2023, where he referred to Saliya Pieris, President’s Counsel, who was appearing for the National Elections Commission in the Supreme Court in a case connected with the conduct of the local government elections in the following manner:

ඒ කොමිසම ගිහින් ඒ වෙනුවට වෙන නීතිඥයෙක් තියාගෙන. සාලිය පීරිස් මැති තුමාව තියා ගත්තා. දැන් සාලිය පීරිස් මැතිතුමාව තියාගත්තාම සමහර මන්ත්‍රීවරුන් ආණ්ඩුවේ ඇවිල්ලා මට කිව්වා කොහොමද සාලිය පීරිස් තියාගන්නේ එයා දේශපාලනයේ ඉන්න නීතිඥයෙක්. එහෙනම් දේශපාලනයේ නැති නීතිඥයෙක්  අරගන්න කියලා. නැත්නම් නීතිපති දෙන්න කියලා. ඉතින් මම කිව්වා. නීතිපතිව දෙන්න අමාරුයි මේ තත්වය ඇති වෙලා තියෙන්නේ. මම කිව්වා මම මැදිහත් වෙන්නේ නැ මේ අවස්ථාවේදී ඔබතුමලාට ඔන්නම් මේක අරගන්න කියලා. නීතිඥයෙක් අරගන්නවා නම් කිසිම පක්ෂයකට සම්බන්ධ නැති නීතිඥයෙක් අරගන්න ඕනේ කියල මම පිලිගන්නවා. මෙතන අරගත්තේ ආණ්ඩුවට බලයක් නැ මේ ආණ්ඩුව ක්‍රියාත්මක කරන්න බෑ ඇත්ත වශයෙන්ම ගත්තේ නීතිඥයෙක් ඊට වඩා හොඳයි මේ සජබෙ නැත්නම් ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණේ ඉන්න නීතිඥයෙක් අරගෙන ක්‍රියා කරා නම්

The quoted portion of the President’s speech in Parliament was given wide publicity in the media.

It is a basic right of any individual or corporate body to retain an Attorney-at-Law of their choice to represent their interests in legal proceedings and the members of the Bar have a duty to assist their clients before courts and other tribunals. This is a right of any person before the law, a professional duty of Attorneys-at-Law and a vital function to preserving the Rule of Law and the proper functioning of the legal system.

Article 16 of the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers adopted by the United Nations (on 7th September 1990) sets out that:

“Governments shall ensure that lawyers (a) are able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference; …”

The fact that a senior member of the legal profession in Sri Lanka has been subject to personal attacks for representing clients, more so being called a “political lawyer” by the Head of State under the cover of the protection of immunity and privilege is a matter of serious concern.

The above statement was made by the President in the morning hours of the 23rd of January 2023 during a vote called by the opposition on the declaration of essential services where the President also commented on an Affidavit tendered by the National Elections Commission to the Supreme Court in a case that was fixed to be taken up in the afternoon on the same day, in the following manner:

අද විශේෂයෙන්ම මැතිවරණ කොමිසම දැන් මේ ඡන්දය ගැන උසාවියට ගිහින් කියනවා ලු ඡන්දයක් පවත්වන්න බැහැ කියලා. නමුත් ඇත්ත වශයෙන්ම මෙතන ගිය දිවුරුම් පෙත්සම දුන්නම මම හිතුව වචන ස්වල්පයක් කථා කරන්න …

Thereafter, the President proceeds to respond to certain averments in the said Affidavit.

It is a cause for concern that the President should comment on ongoing proceedings before the Supreme Court just a few hours before the case was to be taken up and comes just days after the media reported that the President made the following statement:

“Upcoming election is not a means to change the govt. The court is expected to make a decision on the election date. However, the country’s economic problem is not something that can be resolved through legal action, even if all judges, including the CJ, are involved”

In a speech to the 21st Commonwealth Law Conference in Zambia in 2019 Lord Burnett of Maldon, the Lord Chief Justice of England & Wales, commenting on the abuse of parliamentary privilege stated that he was concerned with the rare instances “when Parliamentarians have spoken in Parliament in ways that have failed to respect the principle of comity and have not left the courts free to administer justice.” Lord Burnett goes on to state “… Yet the scope for abuse, not only in the context of the defiance of court orders, is great indeed in the absence of appropriate self-restraint or effective rules determined and enforced by Parliament itself”.

The BASL calls upon the President and Members of Parliament to “exercise self-restraint” and to desist from making statements which will erode the confidence of the public in the legal system and undermine the independence of the judiciary both of which would ultimately lead to a serious erosion of the Rule of Law.

This decision to express grave concern regarding the President’s statements which pose a serious threat to the Rule of Law by a statement of the Bar Council was unanimously adopted on a motion moved by the Deputy President, Anura Meddegoda PC. Several members of the Bar Council seconded the motion and no member spoke against it. The Deputy President of the BASL chaired the debate on the motion as Saliya Pieris PC, the President of the BASL, recused himself when the motion was moved as an ‘Urgent Matter’ at the meeting of the Bar Council. (NewsWire)

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