The Hon. Sunil Watagala, Attorney-at-Law - Deputy Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, I am pleased to participate in the debate on the Votes of the Ministry of Justice and National Integration, including institutions such as the Department of Prisons. I speak with 26 years of experience in the legal field. Over those years, I have identified many deficiencies in the justice system. I have already brought to the Minister’s attention issues relating to basic facilities, record-keeping, and photocopy services. I believe that once these Votes are passed, we will be able to rectify, at least to some extent, such shortcomings across the judicial system.

¶ 02 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, I also wish to place a proposal raised by several members. The retirement age of judges in our system is comparatively lower than in many countries. At present, the retirement ages are: High Court – 61; Court of Appeal – 63; Supreme Court – 65. If we had been able to extend, at least for the High Court and the Court of Appeal, we could have retained the services of fearless and highly competent judges like Messrs. Wasantha Jinadasa, Saleem Marsoof, Vikum Kaluarachchi and Ruwan Fernando. Their services were lost to us after a fixed time period. Therefore, if there is an opportunity to revise these age limits, that would be a major gain.

¶ 03 Several allegations were levelled at us by Hon. Members of the Opposition. They asked what we have done with the files we had. We are clear: we did not destroy files; we referred them to the proper authorities. More files remain and there is no issue. We will present them for proper investigations under due process and lawful procedure. Also remember this: we are investigating whether anyone sold their parliamentary seat.

¶ 04 Another allegation was that our Party Leader “sat in the Chair when Ranil Wickremesinghe told him to.” I say this: people who live in glass houses should not throw stones. Our Party Leader once said, pointing his finger, “Name any Cabinet Minister and I will reveal the theft they committed.” No one said “me.” Those thieves were silent then. Today they point their fingers and tell us, “Don’t break the fence of an abandoned house.” What abandoned house? The President came, sat in his seat and spoke; anyone could ask questions, and some did. So do not lecture us with such analogies.

¶ 05 We were asked why we do not build a good legal system. Let me remind the House: the independence of the judiciary in this country was won through struggle, led notably by the legal community. At one time, a Chief Justice, Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake, was impeached after refusing to write judgments to suit the whims of powerful individuals. For the first time in history, a bank chairman was made the Chief Justice. Thereafter the legal community and progressive forces fought again to restore judicial independence. We also witnessed speeches made outside this Parliament claiming judicial power lies not with the courts but with Parliament, and threats to judges at meetings such as in Mahiyanganaya.

¶ 06 Further, when a Supreme Court Bench ordered the holding of local government elections, a Chief Government Whip aligned MP, Hon. Premnath C. Dolawatte, moved a Motion here to summon and punish the three judges. That was the state of the judiciary then. Today, under the National People’s Power Government, we are ensuring the judiciary functions independently. We have made appointments to the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, and neither the Bar, nor the Bench, nor the public have any accusations about the suitability of appointees.

¶ 07 On the Prisons Department: Minister Harshana Nanayakkara inherited a department where political authority had intruded to the extent of a former State Minister, Lohan Ratwatte, entering a prison at midnight and threatening inmates with a firearm. That is the legacy we received. Today, for the first time, both the judiciary and prisons are being opened up to the people as independent institutions.

¶ 08 On Arjuna Mahendran: there is a new chorus again. Let me recall: on 24 December 2021, the Singapore Government informed Sri Lanka that he could not be extradited under their Extradition Act. That was during the time of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Extradition is a concept of international law. There are two opportunities: first, to invite the suspect to appear before trial; if he does not, the second is to conclude the trial here and execute the judgment. There is a case proceeding against Mahendran. If the first avenue fails, we will use the second. The Government’s objective on this matter has not diminished; we will do what we say.

¶ 09 We were told complaints are not being prosecuted and actions are delayed. Some proceedings are complex and take time. If we give the Attorney-General’s Department time, some become impatient. We must allow them and the Police Department to act independently. Today you see major accused in large-scale public finance crimes being brought to court one after another. A former IGP, who compromised the police service and treated the IGP post as if under contracts, is now evading arrest despite a warrant from the Matara Magistrate’s Court. The Independent Judiciary has issued that order; the Police are working independently to find him.

¶ 10 Finally, there are 159 Members on the Government side. If anyone can prove that any of us misappropriated public funds, we will leave politics. That is the calibre of the 159 Members implementing this programme. Thank you.