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Regional Courts of Appeal soon

by Sarath Malalasekera

Regional Courts of Appeal in four regions will be set up soon to clear the heavy backlog of cases pending before Appellate Courts. The volume of draft laws for this purpose had been prepared by Constitutional Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris and it is now with the Government, Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva, PC said at the National Conference on Legal Aid held at the Bar Association of Sri Lanka Headquarters, Colombo on Saturday.

This is the first time that regional Appellate Courts are to be set up in Sri Lanka.

The Chief Justice who was the Chief Guest at the Conference said that laws delays could be minimised by setting up these Regional Courts of Appeal on a circuit basis.

"We have enough Senior Judicial Officers to function in these Appellate Courts," the Chief Justice said.

President, Bar Association of Sri Lanka Ajantha Athukorale presided at the conference. Associated with the President at the head table were the Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva, PC, High Commissioner for Canada in Sri Lanka Ruth Archibald, Supreme Court Judge, Justice Dr. A.R.B. Amarasinghe, who delivered the keynote address, Secretary BASL Bandula Wijesinghe, Chairman Legal Aid Foundation S.S. Wijeratne and the treasurer BASL Udaya A.R. de Silva.

At present Commercial High Courts are functioning in these regions.

The Court of Appeal is now hearing cases listed for appeal in 1994 and 1995. Cases listed to hear and dispose will take at least 12 years.

The Chief Justice remarked that as it is even the richest parties involved in these appeal cases will have to obtain assistance from Legal Aid to complete the cases.

By setting up these Regional Courts of Appeal, it will not take more than two to three years to complete a case, the Chief Justice said.

The Chief Justice speaking on three important issues - funds for the payments to the lawyers who appear on behalf of the Legal Aid Scheme, Defending the victims in cases including rape, attempted murder, bugalary and setting up the Regional Courts of Appeal - said the lawyers who appeared for the Legal Aid should be paid without any delay.

The Legal Aid scheme hasn't sufficient funds to meet the payments to lawyers who appear for them in courts. The Ministry of Justice on several occasions had come to the assistance of Legal Aid to meet the payments for the lawyers assigned by Legal Aid, the Chief Justice added.

"The USA is prepared to help the Legal Aid Scheme. I hope we will be able to collect funds with the assistance of the USA," he said.

Dealing at length on defending victims the CJ said it is a very sad situation that the country does not have a system to defend the victims in a rape or any other cases.

Looking after the interests of the victim is also very important. At present, the Attorney General's Department appears with the Police for the prosecution in High Court cases. Now the Attorney General's Department has set-up a Non-Summary Unit. For this purpose lawyers are assigned on contract basis. Likewise a victim's interests should also be represented in courts, the CJ said and added that in this connection the CJ had discussions with the Inspector General of Police Lucky Kodituwakku, Senior DIGs and DIGs.

By setting up a system to look after the interests of the victims, Legal Aid also could play an important role, he said.

If the victims know that there is an avenue for them to do so, it is a great assistance and relief to them.

In some cases, the accused plead guilty and get away scot free with a suspended sentence. What is the position of the victim, the CJ asked.

The Supreme Court is 200 years old now. It is high time to find a remedy for innocent victims to obtain assistance and to safeguard their interests, the CJ added.

The Chief Justice emphasised that all legal work culminates in courts to ensure efficiency and honesty.

Several Courts in the country have been set up with modern facilities. In the near future all courts in the country will receive modern facilities, the Chief Justice said.

Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva, PC paid tribute to all senior and junior colleagues from all parts of the country for their degree of commitment in attending the conference. This will strengthen our relationship, the Chief Justice concluded. 

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