The Hon. Harshana Nanayakkara, Attorney-at-Law - Minister of Justice and National Integration

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I will respond briefly to certain foundational issues raised today. Chiefly, the Trincomalee incident; and secondly, unfair attacks creating public suspicion regarding the Chief Justice’s and the Judicial Service Commission’s decisions.

¶ 02 First, let me be clear. Governments are usually accused of trying to interfere with the judiciary. We respect judicial independence and will not interfere. All lawyers here know the Judicial Service Commission is an independent body, and exerting pressure on it is unconstitutional. Further, the recent removals or interdictions were not only by Chief Justice Priyasath Dep, but such actions have occurred earlier as well. Every Judge who was removed or interdicted was given an opportunity to be heard, and decisions were made following the audi alteram partem principle, having heard both sides.

¶ 03 If anyone is now trying to cast doubt about who influenced what, it must be based on wrong information given by certain Magistrates to those Members. For example, a matter was raised about a Magistrate in Wellawaya—about what happened regarding six kilos of gold, and about a decision in a property case. I can respond case by case because we have summoned those files. But I will not embarrass anyone here. I state this: the Judicial Service Commission and the Hon. Chief Justice have acted correctly, fairly, and lawfully. Those making complaints face no obstacle to challenging the JSC’s Secretary in court. Not a single one has gone to court. Instead, they use Members of Parliament to sling mud and malign the independent JSC. Strangely, it is accused persons and suspects out on bail who are attacking the judiciary in this way, abusing parliamentary privilege.

¶ 04 Next, Hon. Presiding Member, Hon. Gayantha Karunathilaka raised issues about photocopiers in courts. Yes, this was an islandwide problem. A circular has now been issued to hire such machines under procurement procedures. The hire cost is covered by usage; and if a machine breaks, the supplier replaces it. Permission has been granted and I believe High Court Judges are implementing it. However, necessary stationery is still supplied by the Ministry of Justice. We did this because frequent breakdowns made operations difficult, especially in distant courts like in Ampara. So this system is now in place.

¶ 05 Hon. Gayantha Karunathilaka also requested two additional courts in two locations. Certainly, I will consider it. But the decision to establish a court is for the Judicial Service Commission. If Bar Associations write to me about the need, I can place it before the JSC; or they can write directly to the JSC. If the JSC decides a court is needed, our Ministry is bound to provide the required facilities.

¶ 06 On human rights (fundamental rights) cases, another attack is being launched: indiscriminate, wholesale filing. Several Members raised this. In FR cases, there must first be a prima facie basis. Leave to proceed is granted only if there is a substantiated case; every lawyer knows this. Baseless cases should not be entertained, and courts should not be burdened.

¶ 07 On capital expenditure performance: We operated on a Vote on Account from November to 21 March, so we could not plan for the full year. After the Budget was passed on 21 March, April was a holiday month; thus progress sheets cover roughly five months—May to 30 September. Our Ministry’s capital expenditure in that five-month window is 22 percent. I accept delays occurred due to staffing gaps and strict adherence to Procurement Guidelines. The previous regime abused guidelines; we do not. Compliance can cause some delay. However, by 31 December, as bills are being processed now, we can reach 70–75 percent execution. You can verify next year.

¶ 08 Last year, I stated there were 6,021 vacancies across courts. We have recruited in the thousands by now and will accelerate further. Fifty stenographers have been appointed. Since 2022 no new buildings were constructed due to the economic crisis and a recruitment freeze. Restarting in 2024, with reactivation of the economy, we face price variations. Contractors will not work at old rates; we must obtain Cabinet approval for revised prices and allocate funds. These processes caused delays, but we treat them as timebound steps, not failures.

¶ 09 The new Pugoda Court Complex, expected to finish in December, will now complete in March due to issues with the State Engineering Corporation, which are now resolved. We are progressing on establishing courts in Matale and Kantale. We are preparing to open new courts at Manampitiya, Valachchenai, Puttalam, Vakarai, and Nikaweratiya this year; Puttalam is already open.

¶ 10 Regarding the X-Press Pearl litigation costs: the previous Government hired foreign counsel before we took office. We are proceeding in Singapore and the UK. With Cabinet approval, we allocate and disburse funds from the Ministry; otherwise, we risk losing recoveries. I will table a full cost statement shortly.

¶ 11 On the Government Analyst’s Department delays: I acknowledge them. There is significant staff depletion. We are recruiting 16 new officers and 25 more on contract, which will help ease backlogs.

¶ 12 On taking child witnesses to court together with adult accused—a practice persisting for decades—we have started remedies. At Kandy, a separate room has been built for children to testify. Through the Civil Procedure Code amendment, children can also give evidence online. This will largely resolve the issue.

¶ 13 Hon. Ajith Perera, two dilapidated buildings at the Kalutara Courts will be repaired urgently.

¶ 14 On Section 9 of the Civil Procedure Code: I have already clarified this several times. I checked the relevant committee records; there was no direction recorded to amend Section 9. You also know who did it and why. I will not use parliamentary privilege to vilify anyone. I am appointing a committee to redraft it and will certainly bring the amendment next year.

¶ 15 Finally, we will heed constructive Opposition criticism and work with you to elevate the justice sector. I respectfully request: do not exert pressure on the independent judiciary. If you need a stage before 21 November, do it elsewhere.

¶ 16 Thank you.