Court of Appeal Judges urge President not to bring outsider

The Judges of the Court of Appeal are up in arms against what a senior spokesman called a move to recommend an additional Solicitor General from the Attorney General’s Department for the post of President of the Court of Appeal.

Twelve judges, namely K. Sripavan, Chandra Ekanayake, S.I. Imam, L.K. Wimalachandra, S. Sriskandarajah, W.L.R. Silva, Sisira De Abrew, Eric Basnayake, Rohini Perera, Sarath De Abrew, Anil Gooneratne and A.W.A. Salam have, in a joint appeal to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, urged him to desist from bringing an outsider.

The appeal has been made through Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva. The following is the full text of the letter:

We, the Judges of the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka wish to place the following matters pertaining to appointments for Your Excellency's kind consideration.

(1) It has been the inveterate practice for the President, Court of Appeal, to be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court and the most senior Judge of the Court of Appeal to be appointed as President, Court of Appeal, as otherwise a great prejudice will be caused to the Judges of this Court.

(2) The Judges of this Court who have joined the judiciary at the bottom rung of the judicial ladder, have undergone severe hardship whilst serving in remote and demanding stations.

(3) A career Judge will have to serve in the Courts of first instance for a minimum period of 20 to 25 years, to be considered for appointment to the Court of Appeal.

(4) No appointee from outside the Judiciary will have the experience or competence that a Judge of this Court has in the complicated process of adjudication as well as in Court Administration. The position of the President Court of Appeal entails that the President should be acquainted with the field of expertise and abilities of the other Judges of the Court, for efficient and smooth functioning of the Institution.

(5) We verily believe that an Additional Solicitor General from the Attorney General's Department is to be recommended for the post of President, Court of Appeal. In the year 2004, Justice S. Marsoof who was then an Additional Solicitor General was appointed as the President Court of Appeal. When making appointments to the Supreme Court on representations made by the Judges of the Court of Appeal, the seniority was adjusted by placing Justice Nimal Amaratunga who ought to have been appointed President Court of Appeal over and above Justice Marsoof. This was the only instance where an officer other than the next most senior Judge of this Court had been appointed President Court of Appeal.

(6) If a person other than the next most senior Judge of this Court is appointed as President Court of Appeal, it will seriously undermine, prejudice and discourage the Judges of this Court since it will be a severe impediment to the promotional prospects of each and every judge currently serving in the Court of Appeal.

(7) It has been the practice in the past that the Additional Solicitors General from the AG's Department have been appointed as the most junior Judge of the Court of Appeal when occasion demanded, to wit - former Chief Justice His Lordship G. P. S. De Silva, when he was Additional Solicitor General and was appointed the most junior Judge of the Court of Appeal and Justice Anil Gooneratne who too was an ASG was recently appointed to the Court of Appeal as its most junior Judge by your Excellency.

While readily acknowledging Your Excellency's prerogative under Act 107(1) of the Constitution in making such appointments, we would respectfully request Your Excellency to give due consideration to the aforementioned matters in making the next appointment to the post of President Court of Appeal and appointments to the Superior Courts.