Elections to the Bar Association of Sri Lanka will be held on the 24th, in two more days. Two President’s Counsels have entered the fray for the post of Chairman of this election. They are President’s Counsel Saliya Peiris and President’s Counsel Kuvera de Zoysa. Both are contemporaries of the Law College, both of whom are said to have served as chairpersons of the Law College while in office.
Initially a very peaceful and principled election campaign, this Bar Association election campaign has since intensified, launching low-profile propaganda campaigns on social media targeting the main candidates, especially Saliya Peiris. This election has now become.
For that reason, I also wanted to write a few words about Saliya Peiris, I know only Saliya Peiris from the two main candidates in this contest. That is because for a long time he was a man who spoke out and stood up for democratic rights, including human rights, in this country.
Former Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake was one of the leading lawyers representing the legal community in the public outcry against the illegal removal for petty political reasons. He mobilized scattered lawyers around his organization to pass a resolution against her removal and to organize protests in the legal community.
He then met us as a Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, along with its Chairman and other Commissioners to take prompt action against human rights violations in Sri Lanka, as well as to make important recommendations to the Government for the promotion of human rights in Sri Lanka. Commissioners including Saliya Peiris took steps to set up mechanisms to take immediate action on a series of human rights violations.
After the establishment of the Missing Persons’ Office, which was a key part of the mechanism established by the previous government to bring about transitional justice in Sri Lanka, we meet again as the Co-Chairman of the Immigration Office. He did a great deal of work to strengthen the newly established offices. He met with the families of the disappeared in the North and the South as well as representatives of civil society organizations and worked closely with them despite various obstacles.
Now he is going to take on another big challenge like that. That was the first chair of the Bar Association. Today, like other associations, the Bar Association is becoming a board. Due to the activities of some of the lawyers representing this association, there is a strong public outcry against the entire legal community. Some of these lawyers’ actions have been severely influenced by various corrupt practices, including excessive court delays. Disciplining and advocating for these lawyers is a major challenge facing the new chairman.
In addition, the new Chairman will take the lead in intervening to establish the rule of law in the country, protecting the independence of the judiciary and the fundamental rights of the people, and taking steps to implement the plan with the co-operation of others, in order to dispel public mistrust of the judiciary and direct the people to the judicial process. Another challenge facing.
It is clear from his recent statements that he has entered the battle with a clear understanding of these challenges. We are also confident that you will be able to transform the Bar Association of Sri Lanka into a broad and independent body, transforming the Bar Association into a body that supports the resolution of their human rights issues, especially for the benefit of the legal community as well as the development of knowledge about their laws. Let’s do it. We wish him victory