The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) is exploring avenues to introduce the Continuing Professional Development system where lawyers will obtain marks for professional development in a bid to encourage continuous learning and growth of legal professionals, President of the BASL, President’s Counsel Kalinga Indatissa told the Sunday Observer.
Excerpts:
Q: Can you explain what the Bar Association is and what it does?
A: The legal profession is one of the oldest professions in the world. It started in Greece. The young men of Athens are the founders of the legal profession. There was a time during the Greek empire when people did not have rights, and could not air their grievances before the Emperor. Unqualified lawyers would plead the causes of the underprivileged people and take the case before the Emperor or his men.
In that context they were not qualified lawyers, and were known as pleaders. When the Greek Empire shifted to the Roman Empire, the system continued and there was a set of lawyers in the Roman Empire who basically had no legal education, but they could plead the cause of others. However, they could not charge a fee.
By the First Century there was an Emperor called Claudius who introduced a law where a limited fee would be charged. This was called the civil law system of the Roman Empire, while a parallel system was developing in England called the common law system. The common law system was developed through the church, in which they started recognising lawyers.
In Sri Lanka or Ceylon, we had our own legal system for a long time. One of the earliest times was during the reign of King Devanampiyatissa, after the advent of Buddhism. He built temples and donated properties to them. That was the beginning of the Buddhist ecclesiastical law, one of the oldest laws.
Thereafter, Ceylon came under the influence of three foreign powers. The Portuguese did not do much about the law. When the Portuguese arrived in Sri Lanka in 1505, we had a comprehensive legal system. The head of the legal system was the King and he had his subordinate officers who addressed legal issues in the Provinces.
The Portuguese did not do much about the legal system and in 1656 the Portuguese areas were captured by the Dutch, who ruled until 1796. They made a huge contribution by introducing the Roman Dutch law, thereby trying to establish a proper legal system in Ceylon. They introduced their legal system to the coastal areas of the country, while the King ruled the midlands.
Then came the British in 1796. They captured the coastal areas from the Dutch and unlike their two predecessors, they focused on staying in Ceylon for a long time. They realised the commercial value of the country, and wanted to introduce a proper legal system. They passed what is called the Charter of Justice of 1801. This was the beginning of the legal system and the judicial system in Sri Lanka.
Still there was no legal education in the country. Most of the lawyers who practised at the Bar were either from England, Scotland or Ireland. There was an element of South African lawyers at that time too.
In 1833, there was another Charter of Justice passed by the British rulers, which recognised the Supreme Court of Ceylon and its power to admit Advocates and Proctors. Still there was no legal education in the country. In the 1870s the Council of Legal Education was established with powers to start the Ceylon Law College. They conducted two courses for Advocates and Proctors, until 1972.
In 1972, the late Minister Felix Dias Bandaranaike was the Minister of Justice and many changes took place. We did away with the Soulbury Constitution and adopted our own first Republican Constitution. Thereafter, the right of appeal to the Privy Council in England was abrogated, and the Court of Appeal in Sri Lanka became the highest court at that time.
At the same time they did away with the division of Advocates and Proctors, and introduced the ‘Attorney-at-Law’, which continues to date.
The Bar means the collective body of all lawyers. After the amalgamation of Advocates and Proctors in 1974, the Bar Association (BASL) was established. The primary objective of the BASL is to maintain the dignity and independence of the legal profession, develop standards, maintain ethical values and traditions, and work for the progress of the members of the Bar.
We have over 22,000 members, scattered throughout the island. The body called the Bar Council, makes the final decision in respect of matters relating to the profession. The executive committee, makes recommendations to the Bar Council.
Policy decisions are taken by the executive committee and ratified by the Bar Council. After the Bar Council ratifies, it becomes the decision of the Bar Association in Sri Lanka.
Q: What are the primary functions of the Bar?
A: The BASL’s duties are as follows: to protect the Rule of Law, retain the independence of the legal profession, confront issues faced by the legal profession or the Rule of Law, stand up whenever the independence of the judiciary is threatened and all matters connected to the legal profession and the rule of law.
The Bar is above politics. There cannot be politics in the Bar. There have been instances where the Bar has taken existing governments upfront on issues. There is nothing political about it and nothing personal. It is the collective decision of the Bar.
Q: What is the latest project the Bar Association is working on?
A: We are involved in several projects. The most important project is to streamline legal education. Until the 1980s there were only two institutions passing out lawyers to the profession - the Law College and the University of Ceylon. In the 1980s the Open University of Sri Lanka was set up.
As of late, there are students who join the legal profession after completing foreign exams such as, the London A/Ls. We have to streamline this because there could be institutions that are not up to standard in teaching Law in Sri Lanka.
Continuing legal education is absolutely necessary for every Lawyer. In other countries it is called the CPD- Continuing Professional Development. I believe every Lawyer should be updated with the latest information in law. Otherwise, the lawyer will have a problem.
Therefore, we will be starting a mandatory CPD program soon for every Lawyer. They can take part
either as a resource person or as a participant. In other countries you earn marks. We are trying to introduce the same system here.
We are also involved in several projects, such as the infrastructure development of court houses, with the Ministry of Justice. In the post Covid-19 situation the process of digitalising the courts began where filings and everything else can be done digitally without the need for physical presence.
Some of the laws in the country are very old and date back to the British period. The Bar will embark on a law reform project where all the laws will be identified and changed.
Q: How important is it for the Bar to stand against the infringement of the professional rights of a Lawyer?
A: The Bar gets involved whenever there is a complaint by a member of the public relating to professional misconduct or negligence on the part of a Lawyer. No sooner a complaint is made, the Bar, especially the Supreme Court, has the authority to conduct an inquiry and deal with that Lawyer.
Sometime back there were newspaper reports that the professional rights of Lawyers were allegedly violated and Lawyers were subjected to arrest. The Bar can get involved if there is an infringement of professional rights. If a Lawyer has committed a crime the normal investigation process should continue. However, if the professional rights of a Lawyer are infringed by the Executive, we have a duty to step in.
Q: What advice do you have for new members looking to join the Bar?
A: I started my legal career from a humble beginning. I do not come from a legal background. But there was something about the law that attracted me and motivated me. When I entered the Bar in 1986, times were different and things were different.
There was no technology, no social media, smart phones or even laptops. Basically, nothing on technology was available then. That was a transitional period. So invariably, we had to read a lot. Reading to me is not e-reading. It is in the book form. Nothing was easy for us. Today you Google and find everything you need.
The first thing a young Lawyer should understand is that there are no shortcuts to success. You have to learn, learn and learn. You should be prepared to learn from anyone. For me, for lawyers, there are three important Ds. Dedication, Determination and Discipline.
It is wrong to generalise a generation. But one of the fundamental things a young Lawyer should aspire for is discipline because it is very important. The aspiring Lawyer must read, be computer literate, and be conversant in all three languages (Sinhala, Tamil and English).
He or she must also learn to respect the Court, Colleagues and the public. I am a firm believer that the law is for the people. We are the intermediary between the Courts and the people. We are expected to know our law, have skill and competence.
You must also learn to be patient as there are no short cuts. There is no substitute for hard work.