BASL Chief optimistic Justice Priyantha Fernando will continue to uphold dignity of the court

• Following is the speech by Bar Association of Sri Lanka President Saliya Pieris PC, at the ceremonial sitting to welcome Supreme Court Judge Justice Priyantha Fernando on 15 February

Bar Association of Sri Lanka President Saliya Pieris PC

Supreme Court Judge Justice Priyantha Fernando

We are here today to welcome Justice Priyantha Fernando as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, an office which Your Lordship fully deserves. 

As the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, I am honoured to offer my warmest welcome to Your Lordship at this ceremonial sitting, just as I did when Your Lordship assumed the office of the President of the Court of Appeal on 5 August 2021.

Your Lordship begins this new chapter of your judicial career at a crucial moment, when the people of Sri Lanka are looking up to the judiciary, and the Supreme Court in particular, with great hope and expectation. 

With a rich and diverse background in the legal field, having served both in the civil and criminal areas, both in Sri Lanka and abroad, Your Lordship brings a wealth of experience to the bench of this court.

Your Lordship had your early education at Maris Stella College, Negombo and De Mazenod College, Kandana, followed by your admission to Sri Lanka Law College in 1982. Your subsequent apprenticeship and work as a junior in the Chambers of Tivanka Wickremesinghe, President’s Counsel, Your Lordship’s service in the Sri Lanka Navy as a Legal Officer from 1988 to 1990 and thereafter your work as a junior in the Chambers of Mr. Denzil Gooneratne President’s Counsel are all a testament to the diversity of your experience. 

As a career Judge from December 1991, Your Lordship served in many areas in the country including Trincomalee, Polonnaruwa, Colombo Magistrate’s Court, Balapitiya, Kegalle, Colombo Fort, Horana, and the Colombo District Court. 

In November 2008 Your Lordship was appointed as a High Court Judge and thereafter served in the Civil Appellate High Court of Galle and the High Courts of Balapitiya, Negombo, Kurunegala, Puttalam, and Gampaha.

This service in various courts across the country has given Your Lordship an invaluable understanding of the complexities of the legal system and the administration of justice.

Your Lordship’s service in the judiciary of Fiji, where you served as a Puisne Judge of the High Court, a Justice of Appeal in the Court of Appeal, the President of the Supreme Court of Fiji and as the Acting Chief Justice of Fiji, provide a unique and international perspective to your judicial work. 

On 9 January 2019, Your Lordship was appointed as a Judge of the Court of Appeal, serving the next two and a half years in the Courts of Criminal Appeal and the Writ Courts. In June 2021 Your Lordship was appointed as the President of the Court of Appeal. 

Your Lordship’s leadership as the President of the Court of Appeal, including the launch of virtual hearings to clear the backlog of cases, is an example of your commitment to ensuring the smooth functioning of the court system and the wellbeing of the legal profession.

Your Lordship’s dedication to professional development, through training courses at the City University of Hong Kong, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the Civil Service College in Singapore, the Chandigarh Judicial Academy, and the Department of Justice, Criminal Division, in Washington DC, reflects your unwavering commitment to staying current with the latest developments in the legal field.

My Lord, over the years the courts of this country – both the original courts and the superior courts – have time and again – been called upon to protect democracy and the rights and freedom of the people that this country has been blessed with. 

Whether it be in respect of Mark Antony Bracegirdle, Leeda Violet, Jana Ghosha, Joseph Perera, Water’s Edge, the dissolution of Parliament, or the Easter Sunday attacks our courts and our judges have demonstrated that they have the mettle and the strength of character to unwaveringly protect the Constitution, this nation’s democratic institutions and its people.

On 24 December 1981, Your Lordship’s Court was called upon to determine the Constitutionality of the 3rd Amendment to the Constitution, which sought to increase the number of Members of Parliament of the seat of Kalawana – from one to two. The background to the proposed amendment was a brazenly undemocratic attempt by the Executive and the Legislature to thwart the franchise and to bypass the decision of the Court of Appeal which unseated the Member of Parliament for Kalawana and to seat the unseated member back in Parliament. 

On 26 December 1981, a bench presided by His Lordship Neville Samarakoon CJ and consisting of Justices Samarawickrema, Weeraratne, Shrvananda and Wanasundera determined that the proposed amendment violated the franchise and the sovereignty of the people and required approval by the people at a referendum in addition to being passed by a special majority in Parliament. The Bill was never put to the people at a referendum, the unseated Member resigned from the House and the determination of the Supreme Court enabled the elected Member of Parliament to take his rightful place in the House. 

In the case of Rajavarothiam Sampanthan and others v the Attorney General (SCM 13th December 2018), Your Lordships cited with approval the words of the Supreme Court of the United States of America in BAKER vs. CARR [369 U.S. 186 1962] which declared “The Court’s authority – possessed of neither the purse nor the sword – ultimately rests on sustained public confidence in its moral sanction.”

The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has many a time been a beacon of hope, a bulwark against the excesses of executive power, and a defender of the sovereign rights of the people of Sri Lanka. 

Dr. H.W. Jayewardene QC, the then Emeritus President of the Bar Association, on the occasion of the farewell ceremony to Chief Justice Victor Tennekoon QC in 1977 said:

“The courts of this country are the constitutional shield deliberately planned and inscribed for the benefit of every human being subject to our constitution, whatever race, creed or persuasion. No higher duty, no more solemn responsibility rests on a judge than that of translating into living law and maintaining this great guarantee of human freedom. That, you have endeavoured in your term of office to maintain the best of your ability….. During your tenure of office you have not only striven to secure the independence of the judiciary but also recognised the importance of the independence of the Bar.”

It is this legacy that Your Lordship now inherits, and it is our hope that Your Lordship will continue to uphold the dignity and independence of the court and maintain public confidence in our institutions.

I extend my warmest congratulations to Your Lordship and I have no doubt that Your Lordship will serve with distinction and honour, upholding the highest standards of the judiciary and the administration of justice.