President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has recommended two sitting High Court judges for appointment to the Court of Appeal, and the recommendation has been forwarded to the Constitutional Council.

The two are Navaratne Marasinghe and Manjula Thilakaratne, the Daily Mirror reported, citing the President’s Media Division. Hiru News reports the same two names, adding that the proposals have now been formally forwarded to the Constitutional Council for approval.

Appointments to the Court of Appeal require the Council’s approval before the President can make them. Today’s step is a recommendation, not an appointment.

Three High Court appointments take effect tomorrow

Separately, three judicial service officers are scheduled to be appointed as High Court judges tomorrow (23), on the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission.

They are Perumal Sivakumar, Ananthi Kanagaratnam and Lalith Kannangara. The Daily Mirror gives the third name in fuller form as Gnanesha Lalith Kannangara.

Unlike the appellate recommendations, these appointments do not pass through the Constitutional Council — the Judicial Service Commission recommends and the President appoints, and Hiru reports the three are set to assume duties tomorrow.

Two different routes, one day

The two announcements came from the President’s Media Division together, and it is worth separating them. The Court of Appeal names are proposals awaiting a constitutional gatekeeper; the High Court names are appointments with a date on them. Only one of the two sets of judges will be on a bench this week.

The appellate vacancies follow a period of movement on the Court of Appeal bench — Justice Sajeewani Karunanayake was sworn in on 3 September.

A naming caution

The two outlets differ slightly on spelling. The Daily Mirror gives Manjula Thilakaratne; Hiru gives Manjula Tilakaratne. They are the same judge.

Hiru’s own spellings also shifted between its 22 September and 25 September filings: Perumal Sivakumar became “P. Sivakumar” and Ananthi Kanagaratnam became “Anandi Kanagaratnam”. These are the same three judges in both reports.

Update, 25 September: the three High Court judges are sworn in

The three new High Court judges took their oaths before Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena on 25 September at the Chief Justice’s official chambers, Hiru News reported.

They are Judges P. Sivakumar, Anandi Kanagaratnam and Lalith Kannangara. Secretary to the Judicial Service Commission Prasanna de Alwis attended the ceremony.

The swearing-in came two days later than the 23 September date Hiru had reported in advance; no outlet explains the delay. The Court of Appeal recommendations remain with the Constitutional Council, and no outlet has reported a decision on them.

Not reported

Neither outlet says how many vacancies exist on the Court of Appeal, when the Constitutional Council will take up the recommendations, which courts the three new High Court judges will sit in, or which posts they vacate. No outlet reports the judges’ previous stations or seniority.

Sources