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Editors Guild against nomination of Justice Gunawardene

The Editors Guild of Sri Lanka has objected to the nomination of Upali de Z. Gunawardene as a permanent member of the Bribery Commission in a formal complaint to the Constitutional Council on the grounds that the retired judge has asked for, and accepted, special favours from a complainant in a case he heard. A Press release sent by the Secretary to the Guild, Upali Tennekoon points out that retired Justice Gunawardene had heard the criminal defamation trial of the Editor of the Sunday Times Sinha Ratnatunga upon a complaint made by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, and proceeded to convict the journalist. The conviction was later set-aside by the Supreme Court.

Thereafter Justice Gunawardene was given a promotion to the Appeal Court and upon retirement was given unprecedented leave to practise as a lawyer by the President. In the circumstances, the Editors Guild states "the impartiality of retired Justice Gunewardene is in question..... and therefore not fit and a proper person to hold office as a commission of an independent tribunal such as the Commission to Investigate Bribery or Corruption."

The Guild also lodged its protest with regard to what it sees as an attempt by the Secretary of the Constitutional Council to "surreptitiously have the nomination" approved without giving he public sufficient notice to raise objections.

The Guild has charged that according to law the Constitutional Council should give the public two weeks to raise objections and that that this procedural requirement has been overlooked by the Secretary. Therefore the Guild has asked the Council to conduct an inquiry into the conduct of the secretary.

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