A delegation from the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) is scheduled to visit Parliament on Thursday, August 20, to brief Members of Parliament on constitutional and judicial matters now before the House.
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa informed Parliament of the planned visit while addressing the House on Wednesday. He urged the Speaker to make arrangements enabling government MPs to take part in the discussion alongside opposition members.
The two outlets that reported the announcement described the subject of the briefing differently. Ada Derana reported that the session will cover the proposed 22nd Constitutional Amendment, giving MPs an opportunity to seek further clarification on the Bill’s provisions. Daily Mirror reported that the delegation will brief MPs on the failure to fill existing vacancies for judges in the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal. The BASL has raised both issues publicly in recent weeks.
The briefing comes at a busy moment for the legislature. The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution and a companion Judicature (Amendment) Bill were tabled in Parliament on August 18. Since then the Speaker has told the House that petitions challenging the 22nd Amendment have been received, and several petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court against the Bill by the BASL, former minister G.L. Peiris and others.
Government objects on procedure
The announcement drew an immediate objection in the House. Leader of the House Bimal Ratnayake said there was a procedural error in how the meeting had been arranged, Daily Mirror reported.
“Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa has no powers to call for such a meeting. The decision has to be made by the party leaders. There is a procedural error,” Ratnayake said.
Premadasa responded that he had briefed Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne on the meeting and had asked him to make arrangements for all MPs to take part. Neither report indicated whether the objection would delay or block Thursday’s briefing.
An earlier attempt by the Bar Association to address parliamentarians was blocked in early August.
The Bar Association is the professional body representing Sri Lanka’s attorneys-at-law and has intervened repeatedly in debates over judicial independence and constitutional reform.
