The Ministry of Justice has issued a clarification on behalf of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) in response to a query raised by MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Parliament recently.
The Ministry of Justice states that the JSC has sent a detailed note explaining the events that led to the seminar. The statement further said the event was organized by the Judges Institute of Sri Lanka and not by the Judicial Services Commission.
The Minister of Justice will make a detailed statement in this regard the statement said. It has also said the government has nothing to do with the seminar and will not influence the judges or the independence of the judiciary.
The communication quoted JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake who said: “Section three of the letter states that failure to attend the conference may influence JSC’s decisions on the annual salary increments, selecting judges for foreign training and promotions to higher courts.”
The JSC has reportedly said the letter was a draft based on a 10-year-old letter used to organize similar events for many years.
The statement further said that conferences & workshops for judges are organized by the Sri Lanka Judges’ Institute using public funds, and the failure on the part of the participants would result in the waste of public funds and hence a mandatory clause was included to achieve maximum participation.
The JSC said that section three of the letter was mainly to confirm attendance. It does not go against the powers vested with the Judicial Services Commission by the constitution.
The Judicial Services Commission said it does not go beyond the powers and tasks vested on the JSC. The statement adds that the government is not connected to the said event and will not influence the judges or the independence of the judiciary.
