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| Monday, 20 September 2004 |
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How the judicial sector promotes peace Speech delivered by Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva at the ceremonial opening of the new courts complex in Trincomalee on September 12. This is, in every sense, a modern multi-storey building with 36,000 sq.ft of floor area. The building has been planned, designed and constructed to serve the needs of the administration of justice of the area for decades to come. The building, constructed at a cost of 78 million rupees is visibly the best and most prominent building not only in Trincomalee but probably in the whole of the Northern Province and Eastern Province. In this respect, this building would be surpassed only by the new courts complex, that is now being constructed in the war shattered terrain of Jaffna in which we started construction work on the 14th July this year. Personal joy I participate in this event with a great degree of personal joy and a sense of satisfaction since I have been involved in the project for the construction of the court complex from its inception. This construction is an item of development conceived, planned and implemented by the Legal and Judicial Reforms Project of which I have been serving as the Chairman for more than 5 years. I have had the honour and privilege of laying the foundation for this building on the 15th January 2003. It was the Thai Pongal day and auspicious in every sense. Everyone engaged on the project worked tirelessly with sincerity and dedication. I wholeheartedly commend their endeavour and thank them one and all for making our vision a reality in such short time. NE protected conflict The Northern and Eastern Provinces of our country have been specially affected by the protracted conflict, war and bloodshed that has plagued us for nearly two decades. In this sordid period of our history, sadly, our achievements and failures have been measured by the destruction caused and casualties inflicted. Our strengths have been measured by the military hardware that we control. Valuable lives have been lost and billions of rupees of damages have been suffered to relegating our small country to the lower end of the scale of developing countries. In this dismal scene, we of the judicial sector, are happy to state that we have contributed meaningfully to strengthen conditions of peace and order. Our courts are functional from Pottuvil at the lower end of the Eastern Province to Kayts and Pt. Pedro at the upper end of the Northern Province. Many new buildings have been constructed in the Northern and Eastern Provinces especially in Vavuniya and Mannar. The two main projects undertaken by the Legal & Judicial Reforms Project is the construction of court complexes at Trincomalee and at Jaffna. In this context I would commend the Honourable Judges of Trincomalee and Lawyers who practice here, for their valuable contribution. They have fully cooperated with the Project Engineer, Consultant and the Contractor as a result of which we were able to finish the construction by 30th April this year some months before the scheduled date. Establishment of Courts We are making use of this excellent example for the construction of the Jaffna courts complex in which the services of same consultant and the contractor are engaged. The establishment of courts and the due administration of justice is a positive step taken towards normalizing the day to day life in these parts. In terms of Article 105 of our constitution the courts "protect, vindicate and enforce the rights of the People". Our commitment to the rule of law requires that the rights of the people should thus be protected, vindicated and enforced according to the applicable law. If the provisions of the constitution are to be meaningful to our people the administration of justice should be efficient, effective and easily accessible to the people. It is with this objective in mind that we are constantly engaged in improving the facilities for the administration of justice not only in Colombo but in every part of our country. A dispute that could be resolved within a particular area in a court or a tribunal to which the people have easy access should never be removed from that area to the capital city or any other city. Plight of a litigant As the law stands now, all appeals in civil cases are heard only in the Court of Appeal located in Colombo. One could justifiably complain of the plight of a litigant who has to travel from Trincomalee to Colombo to pursue a civil appeal that he has filed. The plight of a litigant who has succeeded in obtaining judgement in a case heard in Trincomalee and who has thereafter to travel to Colombo to ensure that the fruits of his victory are not denied to him is much worse. Since appeals in civil cases have to be instituted, heard and concluded in Colombo, we have a severe backlog of cases in the Court of Appeal in Colombo, we are now hearing appeals that have been filed as far back as 1995, reflecting a 9 year delay. A solution As a solution to this serious crisis facing the administration of justice, we have strived for many years to have the constitution amended so that appeals in civil cases could be heard in circuit in different regions. Fortunately, the proposal made by the present Honourable Minister of Justice for necessary amendments to be made to the Constitution in this manner have now been accepted by the Cabinet of Ministers. The Secretary, Ministry of Justice who is present in our midst has taken pains to go through administrative procedures that are necessary to implement this important step to reform in the administration of justice. I sincerely hope that the necessary amendments to the Constitution would be approved by Parliament on a bi-partisan basis without any division. Designed for sufficient space This courts complex has been designed so that there will be sufficient space for the Court of Appeal to function in these precincts. In this way our endeavour in constructing this court complex is a step in our overall endeavour to take the administration of justice closer to the people, so that the people would have easier and less expensive access and greater confidence in our system. However, we have to be mindful that such confidence is truly established only if we strengthened the honesty, transparency and effectiveness of our processes. I seek the co-operation of one and all to achieve this object that we set for ourselves. |
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