The Hon. (Mrs.) Chamindranee Kiriella, Attorney-at-Law

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, thank you for the opportunity to speak on the Votes of the Ministry of Justice and National Integration, which oversees about 24 institutions. The Ministry plays a crucial role in fair and impartial administration of justice and upholding the rule of law.

¶ 02 “Justice delayed is justice denied.” Delays have huge social impacts; people wait generations. A Judicial Service Commission study reveals approximately 1.1 million delayed cases: Supreme Court 5,600; Court of Appeal 6,100; Civil Appellate 28,000; High Courts 254,000; Magistrates’ Courts 791,000. This affects accused and aggrieved alike: jobs lost, relationships strained, litigation costs immense. Foreign investment is also affected: contract enforcement takes about 3.5 years; Sri Lanka ranks 164/190 in Ease of Doing Business for enforcement, while New Zealand takes six months.

¶ 03 Suggestions: - Establish an Administrative Tribunal to handle matters like teacher transfers and school admissions that now consume Supreme Court time. Retired judges (retirement at 65) could serve 10–15 more years, and regional tribunals would reduce Supreme Court load. - Digitize the justice system: not only virtual hearings, but e-filing and e-payments to reduce costs and expedite processes. Earlier initiatives since 2017 have not fully materialized; e.g., Kandy High Court No. 01 has only a TV with no virtual system. - Empower judges to award realistic costs to deter frivolous actions, with updated guidelines. - Kandy Bar matters: The Court Complex (built ~2000) now needs repairs. Please visit and support improvements. The Kandy Bar has ~1,000 lawyers but only 129 offices; Cabinet earlier approved another 129 using UDA land. Lawyers will fund construction but request 5–10 years to pay Rs. 3.5 million each—particularly important for young outstation lawyers. - Establish a part-time Commercial High Court to hear commercial matters over Rs. 50 million to reduce travel to Colombo for Kandy practitioners.

¶ 04 We wish Hon. Harshana Nanayakkara success and stand ready to assist.