The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) says it has implemented a series of measures to improve the efficiency of Sri Lanka’s judicial system, including the establishment of new courts, the recruitment of magistrates and the digitalisation of the judiciary.
To speed up the hearing of bribery and corruption cases, three new High Courts have been established, the Commission said. The courts are operating from buildings previously used as official residences by government ministers.
The number of courts functioning under the Colombo Commercial High Court has been expanded from three to five, while an additional court has been added to the Colombo Civil Appellate High Court.
On digitalisation, the JSC said the process has been completed at both the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, with preliminary training and other preparations for the new system now under way. Arrangements have also been made to extend digitalisation to the rest of the court system.
The Commission said steps have been taken to recruit 33 new magistrates this year. Although it had sought to appoint 50, only 33 of the candidates met the required qualifications, it said.
The measures come as Sri Lanka’s courts contend with a heavy case backlog that has run into the hundreds of thousands, straining a system that successive administrations have pledged to modernise. Expanding the specialised commercial and anti-corruption High Courts has been a recurring demand of legal reform advocates seeking faster resolution of long-delayed cases.
