IBAHRI urges for protection for justice system, legal profession and media

Sri Lanka’s justice system, legal profession and media are all under grave threat, concludes a report published last week by the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI).
The 155-page report entitled “Justice in retreat: A report on the independence of the legal profession and the rule of law in Sri Lanka” contains several recommendations to protect the independence of the judiciary, legal profession and media.
An IBAHRI delegation to Sri Lanka found that in recent years there has been an escalation of threats and physical attacks against lawyers filing fundamental rights applications and representing terrorist suspects, as well as cases of intimidation and harassment by the Government and the police authorities.
Lord Goodhart QC, who led the IBAHRI delegation to Sri Lanka between February 28 and March 6, 2009, said: ‘The IBAHRI report details a number of great concerns from the independence of the judiciary to violence against lawyers. It is imperative that, for example, lawyers in Sri Lanka be allowed to conduct their professional duties without fear of being attacked. It is absolutely unacceptable that lawyers representing terrorist suspects should find themselves listed on a government website which inappropriately implies that they, the lawyers, are linked to terrorist activity.’ He added, ‘Naming individual lawyers is wholly irresponsible and leaves them open to an increased risk of attack.’
The IBAHRI concluded that far from being isolated incidents, attacks against human rights lawyers form part of a pattern of intimidation routinely expressed against members of civil society, NGOs and journalists who are perceived to be critical or challenging of the Government or its policies, particularly with respect to the conflict with the LTTE.
The brazen nature of these attacks, the lack of effective investigations and prosecutions and the consequential sense of impunity surrounding these incidents have created a climate of fear amongst the legal profession, journalists and civil society.
The IBAHRI also found that the judiciary has become increasingly vulnerable to political interference, and is concerned that Sri Lanka’s counter-terrorism legislation, in particular the emergency regulations, has had a detrimental impact on basic due process guarantees as well as freedom of expression.
An IBAHRI delegation first visited Sri Lanka in 2001; the 2009 IBAHRI delegation found that the state of the rule of law had deteriorated significantly since this first mission. Of particular concern is the widespread perception that the judiciary is not independent. This has led to a rapid decline of public confidence in judicial processes. The lack of independent oversight and practice of exclusive presidential discretion over judicial appointments makes the judiciary susceptible to executive interference and jeopardises its independence. The current procedures for the disciplining and removal of judges are in urgent need of review. In particular, the Judicial Services Commission does not have adequate safeguards to ensure the transparency and independence of its decision-making process and is not able to guarantee a fair hearing for judges and judicial officers under investigation. The perception that the judiciary suffers from political influence has arisen in recent years due to the excessive influence of the Chief Justice, whom it is also believed has used the system of case allocation to sideline senior Supreme Court judges from hearing politically-sensitive cases.
With regard to the media, it appears that Sinhalese, Tamil and English language journalists have little room within the Sri Lankan media for dissenting viewpoints on ‘sensitive issues’, due to excessive governmental control and interference. The President reportedly holds monthly meetings with the editors and owners of all media institutions to maintain pressure on the media and to ensure compliance with the government position on issues relating to the armed conflict with the LTTE.