Welcome assurances on judiciary
President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s assurances that the
independence of the judiciary of this country would be respected
and upheld are likely to be welcomed by all right thinking
sections. This comes in the wake of the recent mob attack on the
Mannar courts complex wherein a prominent politician had
allegedly figured. Those supportive of judicial independence
and, by implication, democratic freedoms, would have found the
President’s pronouncement to the effect that he would not permit
the ‘law to be mocked at’, particularly heartening.
Indeed, these assurances are a far cry from those times in
the early eighties in particular when the judiciary of this land
was compelled to suffer some ignominious mob assaults. As the
President recollected and as reported by us yesterday, the goon
squad assault on the residence of a Supreme Court judge in the
wake of a ruling by the SC in a Fundamental Rights case
involving Left politician Vivienne Gunawardhana, was one of the
darkest moments in this country’s post-independence history. At
that time, there were no assurances by the powers that were,
that the independence and integrity of the judiciary would be
respected and perpetuated, but President Rajapaksa is proving to
be different.
Moreover, the President has underscored his sense of identity
with the legal profession by reminding the country that although
he is the President of this country, he is also a lawyer. The
implication is that he has much in common with the legal
profession.
It is now Received Wisdom almost that although the three arms
of the polity, the Executive, the legislature and the judiciary,
are essential and integral to the flowering of a democracy, they
must act independent of each other and should not encroach into
each others areas of duty and concern. In all flourishing
democracies, this arrangement or separation of powers has worked
fine.
Through experience, the democratic world has ascertained that
it accrues to the common good to keep things this way because
the work of one branch of government supports the other.
Besides, this is a sound system of checks and balances that
helps in maintaining the well being of the people and plays a
major role in upholding their Rights. We believe things must
remain this way because a democracy could be said to be in the
pink of health only when the separation of powers doctrine holds
sway. The President’s assurances help in underscoring this state
of affairs and will ensure that the independence and integrity
of the judiciary would not be tampered with.
This state of things is also integral to the functioning of
law and order. It is the judiciary that plays a pivotal role in
upholding the Rule of Law and without the latter we cannot see
how a country could be saved from chaos and lawlessness.
The judiciary of this country has done it proud and we
believe all sections must cooperate in upholding the dignity of
the judiciary. Any attempts to denigrate the judiciary would
only back-fire badly on the country because when the
institutions that uphold law and order are weakened and when the
Rule of Law is undermined, the country suffers inexorably. This
is a vital lesson of history we dare not forget. |