Legal Bungling and never ending Political Crisis.
Posted on November 19th, 2018
By Charles.S.Perera
In UK the English Judges give judgments which are human, fair and just. They look beyond the law to render human and people friendly judgements. Lord Denning’s judgments are classical and are often quoted to make legal opinions and even judgments more human. The law should be applied to settle problems instead of creating problems unforeseen by the judges when making their judgements. In Sri Lanka the Judges it seems are bound by the law, legal terms, and meaning of the letter of the law leaving aside the spirit of it. They are law book judges.
Todays political mess we find ourselves in Sri Lanka, is the bungling of law book judges. The Attorney General had said precisely that the FR case filed had no reason to be received as the actions of the President of Sri Lanka contested by the FR petitions had been in terms of the Constitution, and in terms of the Constitutional rights vested in him. An interim judgement without taking into consideration the prevailing political situation seems an unprecedented happening that has put the whole country into an utter political turmoil extending it adversely to the lives of the people .
The President Maithripala Sirisena has sworn in Mahinda Rajapakse as the new Prime Minister. But he has not been accepted as such by the Opposition the UNP and its allied political partners. But yet without accepting him as a Prime Minister in the first instance these opposition parties led by UNP and the JVP want to pass a vote of no confidence on a Prime Minister they have not still not accepted. That is a very unusual situation which has no fundamental legal right to be sustained.
Because there should be in the first instance a Prime Minister accepted as such for the opposition to pass a vote of No Confidence. If there is no Prime Minister as they vociferously argue how can they then pass a vote of no confidence to a non existing Prime Minister ?
No one except the opposition led by UNP demand to show a parliamentary majority. If the UNP, JVP,TNA and the rest of the parties of the opposition complain of the absence of democracy in the actions taken by President Maithripala Sirisena, then they should themselves demonstrate that their own actions so far taken had been democratic.
If they are democratic what they should do is to accept the situation as presented in parliament with a new Prime Minister and his cabinet of Ministers. Thereafter they should present to the Speaker of the Parliament a written notice of a No confidence motion to be passed against the Prime Minister and his Cabinet.
Then it would be a democratic presentation in due form of a no confidence motion in the Parliament for a debate, which would eventually be put to a vote in the house. If they have a majority they may pass the no confidence motion against the Prime Minister and his Cabinet of Ministers.
That would solve the present political crisis that had been created by a legal bungling in the first place and allow democracy to prevail to solve the serious political problem the country is faced with.
This is a proposition which should have been suggested by the Political Editor of the Sunday Times in his Column on the 8 November,2018, instead of his statement highlighting the concerns of the Colombo’s diplomatic community and the Western Nations and many others over Sirisena’s actions and decision”
The Political Editor says that their (diplomatic community and the Western Nations) major worry was what would happen to investments made by companies in their countries in Sri Lanka. We wonder in that respect how many Companies of the West had made investments in Sri Lanka.
The Political Editor then adds”…….. . Another concern was both the constitutionality and legality of President Sirisena’s actions. This clearly laid bare a huge drawback. Neither the Presidential Secretariat nor any of the agencies of the new government were able to cohesively explain the reasons or the rationale behind most of Sirisena’s moves. This caused confusion not only in Sri Lanka but overseas too. ……”
The west need not be concerned with the …. constitutionality and legality of President Sirisena’s actions” as he-the President had acted according to the powers vested in him according to the Constitution. The President is not answerable to the Colombo’s diplomatic Community or the West for that.
The President of Sri Lanka had acted according to the Constitution and democratically even though the political parties opposed to him led by UNP is accusing the President, as their interests have been affected.
The Political Editor of the Sunday Times correctly says, ….On the other hand, the UNP’s effective publicity campaign, unmatched by any other, won it the eyes and ears of not only Sri Lankans but also the outside world. That has turned Sirisena into a villain without a defence.”
Hence the adverse situation coming from the Western Diplomats and their countries has been caused by the puppet politicians of the west-the UNP which had turned Sirisena into a villain without a defence. ”
Neither the President Sirisena nor his newly sworn in Prime Minster and his Cabinet are really not concerned with the adverse situation caused by UNP’s betrayel of the country to the West as it is not the opinion of the Western diplomats and their countries that matter to find a solution to the present political problem but it is the people of our own country- the SRI LANKANS.
That is why there should be a General Election to solves the present political situation, which had to be put off due to a legal bungling.