JUSTICE RESTORED

It is hilarious to watch persons who thrive on NGO dollars and kroners from undisclosed donors who as a result have zero integrity or credibility, now attempting to tarnish the image of the newly appointed Chief Justice Mohan Peiris. Justice Peiris was the Attorney-General of the country, and in that capacity he was duty bound to defend the interests of the Sri Lankan state.

His role as a defender of the Sri Lankan state was part of his job description in other words, and there can be absolutely no connection between this role as defender of state and his new role as independent Chief Justice appointed by Executive order, and ratified by the Parliamentary Council. It was natural that Peiris with his extensive experience of defending the country at international forums in his capacity as Attorney-General, was asked to support the state in his capacity as a resource person at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva for instance.

It was merely in extension of his duties as AG, and a contribution made in his area of expertise. That would not militate in any way his suitability to be the new Chief Justice - - and certainly, if people applauded Chief Justice Neville Samrakoon when he was appointed from the private bar to be the first Chief Justice under the new republican constitution, there is no reason that they should similarly not applaud Mohan Peiris. Mohan Peiris has never been - - after all - - the personal lawyer for President Mahinda Rajapaksa, though Neville Samarakoon was the personal lawyer for President Jayewardene, who appointed him to the post of CJ.

The entire legal community and the vigilant citizenry at that time knew how independent Justice Samrakoon was in his tenure, and it is in the hallowed tradition of the Bar that even those who have been private attorneys to the executive, discharge their duties in a judicial capacity in the way they are supposed to, without fear or favour, when they were appointed to the higher echelons of the judiciary.

Unsubstantiated allegations are being made about C.J. Mohan Peiris in various scurrilous websites etc., which have been doing the dirty work for politically motivated NGO funded organizations such as the so-called Lawyers' Collective for instance. These allegations that have not been backed up with anything close to real proof, are testimony to the fact that in many quarters vested interests that had banked on the impeachment proceedings causing real regime destabilization -- regime change even -- are smarting from the fact that things did not turn out remotely in the way they expected.

There are no prizes as they say therefore, for guessing why they have come out with preposterous claims about the new Chief Justice, challenging his suitability to hold office. Of course the Chief Justice can defend himself against charges, and we have no doubt he would if and when it is appropriate.

It takes a certain degree of self-belief and irreverence to dismiss the canards that are being floated with the full force of NGO funded campaigns, painting a perfectly necessary impeachment carried out on integrity related grounds, as some kind of an assault on judicial independence. At least some sections of the legal community were cowed into going along with this false narrative. Mohan Peiris's courageous assumption of office under these circumstances, gives life to the Rule of Law, by frontally rebuffing the anarchists who wanted no lawyer to fill this post. His defence of the country internationally, on the other hand, says that he is not swayed by external pressures or undue influences, but has the interests of country at heart.

But now that there is a Chief Justice, the issue is not the person by the name of Mohan Peiris. The former Attorney General has every ability to defend himself and that is not the task of the government, or the media.

But it is the attacks on the institution of the Chief Justice that cannot be countenanced by any right thinking person. That is why the Lawyers' Collective canards have to be nipped in the bud -- even though having said that, it is safe to say that nobody will take a bunch of dollar and kroner crazy NGO hit-men/attorneys seriously.