Colombo (News 1st) – The Bar Council of England and Wales in a press release stated that it hopes "parliamentary authorities in Sri Lanka will reconsider most carefully the appropriateness of questioning Supreme Court Judges before a parliamentary committee, and we similarly hope that the Sri Lankan government will consider most carefully whether it can be ever be right to encourage disobedience to court orders.”

The release refers recent statements made by State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe and Premnath Dolawatte MP, referring to an ongoing case in the Supreme Court pertaining to the Local Authorities elections.

The release, quoting the Chair of the Bar Council of England and Wales, Nick Vineall KC, said: “An independent judiciary is an essential and integral part of the rule of law. So too is the principle that governments comply with court orders."

The UN Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary state that “it is the duty of all governmental and other institutions to respect and observe the independence of the judiciary” and “there shall not be any inappropriate or unwarranted interference with the judicial process, nor shall judicial decisions by the courts be subject to revision”, the release added.

FULL STATEMENT: https://www.barcouncil.org.uk/resource/bar-council-statement-on-judicial-independence-in-sri-lanka.html

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