Judge Sri Skandaraja takes oaths as new Chairman of Sri Lanka Appellate Court
Posted in Local News
Onlanka News – By Janaka Alahapperuma
(Pix by: Sudath Silva)
Appeal Court Judge S. Sri Skandaraja took oaths before President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new Chairman of the Court of Appellate, Court of Sri Lanka at the Temple Trees on Tuesday 28 June.
Judge Skandaraja was appointed as the Chairman following the appointment of former Chairman, President’s Council, Sathya Hettige to the Sri Lanka Supreme Court. Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga was also present at the occasion.
This act is a significant unwarranted risk to the fabric of our nation. We are under immense pressure from the international community on governance issues. The IC is being cajoled by LTT remnants overseas to tear our nations’ fabric apart.
In this tight situation, SL’s judiciary has an important role to play. The judiciary should correctly view our laws and international laws from a patriotic viewpoint and interpret the laws reflecting majority national aspirations.
The former CJ who is now in politics failed to interpret laws correctly keeping with the nation’s aspirations. Some of his judgements were aimed purely at catching media headlines; he found excitement being a rebel. At the end of his tenure he has climbed on the political stage where he freely articulates his decisions while condemning current judges. Has he ever read the Official Secrets Act?
Can Justice Sridandaraja be honest to his oath? he comes from an area where native laws dominate social systems; is he in a position to interpret SL’s laws keeping with majority social aspirations? Are we doubtless of his allegiance to our land and its flag? A former senior tamil legal officer is now the chief legal advisor to the Global Tamil Forum. In a couple of years time, Justice S may become the Minister for Legal Matters in the New York based TNGTE.
Appointing these KT’s to responsible positions in Government is a significant risk to the community. We simply do not know who they are aligned to and there is nothing to prevent them from working closely with the tamil nationalist LTT rump to destabilise our country.
Guru S certainly has a point.
I was shocked to note a former Attorney General now being the Legal Advisor of a global tamil organisation aligned to the now defunct LTT.
The commitment to public service is a commitment for lifetime and sholud servive severance at retirement. I believe this is one of the principles on which the state pays pension to retirees.