The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) has issued a formal statement expressing “grave concern” over remarks by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the recent May Day rally in which he referenced a judicial ruling due to be delivered on 25 May, telling supporters they would be able to applaud the decision when it comes.
The BASL said the tenor of the comment is “open to the suggestion that there is interference with the judicial process” and could erode public confidence in the courts. The Association warned that judicial independence is not merely an institutional safeguard but is fundamental to the dignity of the individual, the rule of law and the moral authority of a democratic society.
Citing past episodes when the independence of the judiciary has come under threat, the BASL said its members “throughout the island have fiercely opposed such interference, whether it be from the executive arm or any other quarter” and pledged to take all necessary steps to protect judicial integrity.
The Association noted that the Preamble of the Constitution recognises judicial independence as part of the country’s “intangible heritage” guaranteeing the dignity and well-being of succeeding generations.
The May 25 ruling the President referenced is widely understood to be the Court of Appeal verdict in the Free Lawyers Association petition seeking a presidential commission of inquiry into the Treasury cyber heist. AKD’s May Day comments have already drawn opposition criticism from G.L. Peiris and Namal Rajapaksa, as well as from a cross-party group of opposition MPs. Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara had earlier dismissed the criticism as a misinterpretation.
The BASL intervention is the first formal institutional response from the legal profession itself, carrying weight beyond the political controversy and signalling concern from inside the bar about the executive-judiciary relationship.
