The Junior National Law Conference 2017 got underway in Galle  on Friday, September 29.

The event will continue over the weekend, with the participation of over 300 delegates.

The conference commenced under the patronage of dignitaries including Chief Justice Priyasath Dep and the Minister of Justice Thalatha Atukoralea.

Many other dignitaries are scheduled to attend the event over the weekend.

The event yesterday was graced by the following;

• Tung Lai Margue – The EU Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives
• U.R De Silva – The President of BASL
• President’s Counsel Jayantha Chandrasiri Jayasuriya – The Attorney General
• M. Jayasekera – The Registrar of the Supreme Court
• Presidents Counsel Sarath Jayamanne – Director General of the Bribery Commission
• Chevaan Daniel – Group Director – TCMOL

Speaking at the event, the Chief Justice Priyasath Dep brought up an important fact that there are long delays in concluding cases.

“That is not peculiar to Sri Lanka. Specially in South Asia, it is a common thing”,  said the Chief Justice.

However, CJ Priyasath added that it is not an excuse for Sri Lanka and that steps have to be taken to reduce the delays.

Adding up to the remarks of Chief Justice, the Minister of Justice Thalatha Athukorala broke down the pending number of cases;

High Court

• End of 2015 – 16960 cases
• End of October 2016 – 20,038
• End of March 2017 – 16574

Civil Appellate High Courts: end of 2015 – 6347

Commercial High Court: end of March 2017 – 5580

“As you can see this is a very unhealthy state of affairs and it is in your hands to significantly eradicate this situation by not only avoiding requesting for dates but diligently studying your briefs and addressing court to the point without wasting the time of the court.”, added the Minister of Justice.

The Capital Maharaja Organisation’s Group Director Chevaan Daniel delivered the key note address at the opening ceremony:

“My dear friends today all of us are at the foot of a  mountain. Think about it, you are on the cusp of something great and if you think the legal profession, and I assume this, its full of bureaucracy and systemic hierarchy, well it is the same in the corporate sector. Nothing comes easy. You have to have the strength to break forward. And so you see this mountain. You have a choice, you can pitch a tent and live the rest of your life starring at this great mountain. Or you can start climbing upwards, give up halfway and come back down. Or you can find something in you, find a reason to fight all the way to the top and see what is on the other side. The Indo-Aryan root of the word purpose is fire. Fire. And what’s the thing about fire? Once you have fire inside of you, if you are near fire what’s the one thing you can’t do? You cannot sit still. You have to keep moving. Being stationary, being in one place is the beginning of the end. You must find your fire. And that fire is your purpose in life, and if you find that purpose in life, climbing that mountain, you’ll be at joy. “

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