New SC Judge, Imam felicitated

Sarath Malalasekera

Justice Imam has undoubtedly come well equipped to the Bench of the Apex Court, said Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) President W. Dayaratne at the ceremonial sitting held at the Superior Court to welcome the new Supreme Court Judge, Justice S. I. Imam.

The BASL President said, the Bar welcomes your appointment.

Justice Imam is an heir to a rich family heritage being the son of late professor S.A. Imam and Mrs. Imam.

Justice Imam is a distinguished product of Trinity College, Kandy. Having completed his primary and secondary education, he entered the Sri Lanka Law College and was called to the Bar on February 21, 1974.

Later he was awarded the L.L.M. degree in International Economic Law from the University of Colombo.

Justice Imam was in active practice in the unofficial bar for nearly six years until joining the judiciary on March 01,1980.

Justice Imam has experience in original civil and criminal court jurisdiction and this we feel will be a benefit to this apex Court.

Justice Imam brings invaluable experience to this August court and has come into contact with litigants in several parts of the country and understands the trials and tribulations of such persons who have to be the recipients of justice.

After the appointment as a High Court Judge Justice Imam presided over many sensational criminal cases.

Justice Imam was a member of the “Trial at Bar” to hear the “Inoka Sewwandi” murder case. Later he was appointed as a judge of the Court of Appeal on December 05, 2003. Justice Imam’s elevation to that court was enriched by the wide experience gained over a quarter of century.

Apart from a wide judicial experience, Justice Imam had the benefit of participating in seminars and conferences dealing with various aspects of law both in Sri Lanka and abroad.

This includes: A course of evidence at Stanford University Law School, California, United States of America, A Conference on Human Rights held in New Delhi, India organized by the United Nations, Commonwealth Judicial Educators Biannual meeting held at New Delhi, hosted by the National Judicial Academy of India, workshop on Commercial Law organized by the International Development Law Organization.

Justice Imam led a delegation to Kuwait in June 2007 with the objective of a comparative analysis of the systems of Law in both countries and was one of the members of the delegation to Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa in August 2007 to undertake a comparative study of the Constitution of both South Africa and Sri Lanka.

“We are confident that Your Lordship will continue to dispense justice impartially and independently and will thus follow the practice of this August Court.

The Bar Association will do its utmost to protect independence of judiciary and to ensure that the Rule of Law prevails.

We will not be deterred by violence or any other means that are futile attempts to prevent the members of the Bar from discharging their duty.

We welcome Justice Imam on the bench and will assure the fullest co-operation. On behalf of the Bar I wish Justice Imam a happy and satisfied tenure of office. May the blessings of All Mighty God Allah be with you.