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| Sunday, 21 November 2004 |
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Bar Assn. concerned over President's allegations The Bar Association of Sri Lanka in a letter addressed to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga over certain allegations she had made against the judiciary at the special session of the National Advisory Council on Crime Prevention, has stated that these allegations had caused grave concern among members of the Bar Association. Following are excerpts from the letter signed by the President of the Bar Association, M. Ikram Mohamed PC. The Bar Association regrets that it cannot by any standard, concur with the view expressed by Your Excellency that the entire Judiciary of Sri Lanka is corrupt. "Your Excellency will accept the fact that all institutions in the country are afflicted with corrupt individuals. We have had occasion to point out that action against politicians and persons in high positions of power has been slow, which fact has lent force to the erosion of public confidence. The prompt action taken by the Judicial Service Commission, to rid the Judiciary of corrupt individuals stands in high relief. We take this opportunity to state that the entire Executive Committee of the Bar Association unanimously expressed without any exception their highest respect and regard of the Judiciary as a whole, and that their confidence in the Judiciary has not eroded. "We are informed that the said statement was perhaps based on the contents of a publication of "Transparency International." This report is mostly based on a sampling technique whereby selected questions of a general nature are posed to select individuals. We have noted that the report published by "Transparency International" has not cited a single instance of corruption attributed to any particular Judge. Such general condemnations not only undermines the Judiciary, but also the integrity of the State. We are in the process of examining this document in detail and would submit our report to Your Excellency in due course. "We kindly request Your Excellency to convey any specific information that seems to be in your Excellency's possession regarding the corruption of any member/members of the Judiciary, to the appropriate authorities for suitable action as the Head of the State. The Bar Association then would take appropriate action in respect thereof. "Our Association assures Your Excellency, its fullest support and co-operation to eliminate such corruption if any, in the Judiciary, since the Judiciary ought to be free from all forms of corruption." |
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