International fact-finding mission to probe impeachment in SL

• Delegation to be led by respected former Indian CJ, J.S. Verma
• Mission commissioned by Int’l Bar Association arrives today
• Fact-finding team includes a British House of Lords Member

By Dharisha Bastians

Former Chief Justice of India Jagdish Sharan Verma will arrive in Colombo today, leading a high-level international fact-finding mission that will study the impeachment of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, Daily FT learns.

The delegation has been commissioned by the International Bar Association and will include a member of the House of Lords, Baroness Usha Prashar and several others.

Authoritative sources said the delegation’s mandate will be to probe and submit a report about the process adopted by the Sri Lankan Parliament to impeach the country’s highest ranking Judge

The respected Indian Jurist told the media in India that the delegation will spend several days engaging in interviews with members of the Judiciary, Sri Lankan Government officials and members of the legal fraternity.

The IBA commissioned fact-finding team will seek to investigate and determine whether the Sri Lankan Government’s move to impeach Chief Justice Bandaranayake in violation of rulings by the two highest courts of the land that the process was flawed, was an attempt by the regime to curb the independence of the Upper Judiciary.

Justice Verma recently led a three-man Indian Government-appointed panel on crimes against women in the aftermath of the brutal gang rape of a 23-year-old in New Delhi in December.

The Government of Sri Lanka impeached Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake after a Parliamentary Committee of seven Government MPs found her guilty on three charges, including alleged financial misconduct, non-declaration of assets and judicial bias.

The resolution of impeachment passed by Parliament on 11 January, after a brief and highly controversial probe into the charges against her, President Mahinda Rajapaksa sacked her from office.

The Government ploughed through with the impeachment despite two rulings by the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal that found the process to be unlawful and deeply flawed.