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•  Premature retirement of Justice Mark Fernando

Public appeal for PM to probe

By Federica Jansz

Representatives of some 20 key public interest groups have signed a letter to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe requesting him to look into the circumstances leading to the sudden and unprecedented decision by Justice Mark D.H. Fernando to prematurely relinquish judicial office.

Signatories to this letter include representatives from the Asian Human Rights Commission, PAFFREL,  Marga Institute, Centre for Policy Alternatives, Avadhi Lanka Movement, Habitat for Humanity, Families of the Disappeared, Niveka, People Against Torture, The Ecumenical Institute and Janasansadaya.

Presidents Counsel R.K.W. Goonesekere, Desmond Fernando and Nehru Gunetilleke initiated the letter to the Prime Minister requesting that the Premier appoint an ad-hoc Parliamentary Select Committee to inquire into the constitution of benches in the Supreme Court, in particular in matters of constitutional determinations and divisional benches and the listing of cases before court.

The letter to the Prime Minister states that the sudden decision of Justice Mark Fernando, PC, and senior most judge of the Supreme Court, "who has served as a worthy member of that court for over 15 years, to give notice of early retirement, has caused grave concern to the members of the legal and other professional bodies, academics, civil society and the general public."

The letter requests the Prime Minister to consider the appointment of a Parliamentary Select Committee to look into the circumstances leading to the decision of Justice Fernando to prematurely retire.

The signatories have drawn attention in particular to the constitution of benches in the Supreme Court in matters of constitutional determination and divisional benches, the listing of cases before the Supreme Court, and appointment of the members to the Judicial Services Commission. It additionally raises queries regarding nomination of judges to international conferences, meetings, study tours and the development of judicial infrastructure with foreign funds.

The Sunday Leader learns that despite the fact that over 40 petitions challenging bills of high public importance had been brought before the Supreme Court in recent years, including a new Constitution for Sri Lanka, Justice Fernando, despite being the senior most judge in the court, had not been nominated by Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva to preside over any of the benches hearing constitutional matters.

The signatories to this letter have also requested Justice Fernando to reconsider his decision to retire prematurely, pointing out that this will have a further negative effect on the rule of law in Sri Lanka and result in a further deterioration of the citizens' trust in public institutions.

Meanwhile, more than 150 lawyers from Colombo and outstations have signed an Expression of Appreciation for Justice Fernando, being one of Sri Lanka's most respected judges, while noting the "unfortunate circumstances" which may have compelled Justice Fernando to prematurely retire from the Supreme Court two and a half years prior to his due date of retirement.

The list is headed by the most eminent legal names in the country, namely Presidents' Counsel, H.L. de Silva, Nehru Gunetilleke, E.D. Wickremenayake, Ranjith Abeysuriya, Shibley Aziz, R.K.W. Goonesekere who is  chairman, Civil Rights Movement, Desmond Fernando, former Speaker Stanley Tillekeratne, former President of the Bar, N.R.M. Daluwatte and Attorneys S.L. Gunesekera, Dr. Jayantha de Almeida Guneratne, Ranjan Gooneratne, S.C.B. Walgampaya, A.R. Mathew, D.G. de Saram and Sunil Cooray.

Other signatories include  Elmo Perera, J.C. Weliamuna, Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena, M.A. Sumanthiran, V.K. Choksy, Ruana Rajepakse, Suranjith Hewamanne, and Basil Fernando.

The list also includes Anglican Bishop of Colombo Duleep Chickera, Roman Catholic Bishop for Kandy, Rt. Rev. Vianny Fernando, 40 Buddhist priests including the Mahanayake of the Ramanna Nikaya, Dr. P.R. Anthonis, Commissioner of Elections Dayananda Dissanayake, Professor Kingsley de Silva, Professor G.H. Peiris as well as legal academics, Professor Savitri Goonesekere, Suriya Wickremesinghe, Associate Professor Sharya Scharenguivel, Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy, Dr. Deepika Udugama and Rohan Edrisinha.

Signatories also include Sunila Abeysekera, Kumudini Samuel, Professor Amal Jayawardene,  Professor M.O.A. de Zoysa, Stanley Jayaweera, Susil Siriwardene, Dr. Nalin Swaris, Gerry de Silva, Dr. Lalith Mendis, Dr. Gamini Gunetilleke, Neville Ladduwahetty, former Prisons Commisisoner C.T Jansz, Marshall Fernando, Tassie Seneviratne and Jayantha Sumanasekera.

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