The Bar Association of Sri Lanka has asked for a briefing it was due to give Members of Parliament on Thursday to be postponed until MPs from both the government and the opposition can take part.

The request was made in a letter dated August 19 from BASL President Rajeev Amarasuriya to Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, who had proposed and arranged the session. It was to have been held at the Parliament Complex on Thursday and to cover the proposed constitutional amendment extending the retirement age of superior court judges.

Amarasuriya described the initiative as important and timely given the national significance of the amendment, and said the Bar Association had hoped it would attract bipartisan consensus, giving parliamentarians an opportunity to consider the legal profession’s concerns objectively.

Why the BASL stepped back

Referring to proceedings in the House on Wednesday, the association said the government’s stated position indicated that there was currently no consensus on the matter and no apparent interest in giving government MPs the chance to attend.

Because the opposition has already declared strong objections to the amendment, the BASL argued, the briefing would have been of most value to government members. It therefore asked that the session be deferred until participation from both sides could be assured, while thanking Premadasa for proposing it and calling the effort a progressive step in the constitutional debate.

The parliamentary objection

NewsFirst reported that Premadasa had sought to bring Bar Association representatives before all 225 MPs, and that government members opposed the arrangement as contrary to established parliamentary procedure, arguing Parliament had granted no approval for the full membership to be convened to hear a professional body’s views on pending legislation.

That objection surfaced in the House on Wednesday, when Leader of the House Bimal Rathnayake said Premadasa had no power to call such a meeting and that the decision rested with party leaders. Premadasa said he had briefed the Speaker and asked him to make arrangements for all MPs to attend.

An earlier BASL attempt to address parliamentarians was blocked in early August.

Sources