A series of laws related to environment and climate change will be introduced and as the new laws are being made, the High Court will have a new role to play. The country has faced a very turbulent year which tested the limits of the Constitution and its ability to survive the turbulent times. The Courts still have an important role to play in the 21st century to speed up justice and to ensure that the litigation is not one that will bury the citizens with the cost, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said.
President Wickremesinghe made these remarks while addressing the 25th Anniversary celebrations of the Colombo High Court Lawyer’s Association held at the Monarch Imperial, Colombo on Monday (19).
The President also said that there will be issues with regard to the new laws that are to be introduced and the High Court will be at the center of it to decide the role of the High Court and what your attitude is towards speeding up justice and making it available to all.
President Wickremesinghe presented Awards to the Senior Presidential Counsellors who have rendered their services over many years towards the betterment of the nation and a memento was also presented to Attorney General Sanjaya Rajaratnam.
Attorney General Sanjaya Rajaratnam, Senior Presidential Counselor U.R. De Silva, Colombo High Court Judge Damith Gunawardena and several other senior Presidential Counsellors attended this function.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe further said,
“First and foremost, I must thank you for the Award you gave me, but I must also confess I have never practiced in the High Court. This is one Court in which I have not practiced because at the time I was at the Bar there were no High Courts. We had the Court of Assize which I think had come from the British times when Judges went on circuit. The Colombo Court of Assize was at the old ceremonial court, which we used go even when we were Law students, Law faculty, and the Law College, to listen to cases like the ‘Kalaththawa Case’, and the ‘Kularatne Case’. I don’t know how many of you remember the famous ‘Pauline De Cruise’ case. These were all cases that we had followed.
By the time I entered Parliament, the Court of Assize was still there. Once we passed the 78 Constitution, I remember the proposals that were made, especially by one of my seniors, H.W. Jayewardene among others, to establish the High Court. There was a big debate among us lawyers in Parliament, on why you want the High Court when you can have the Court of Assize. The High Court turned out to be a very lively place. It really expanded. I remember after we brought the 13th Amendment, within a short time there was the Provincial High Court and there were the Commercial High Court, so it has been expanding and now the Port City Commission is establishing, another Commercial High Court within the Port City, which will have exclusive jurisdiction over the matters that come there.
So whatever work you have lost with the Dangerous Drugs Act I think you can make up with this. That will be only in Colombo so all the other High Court are discriminated. However, it will be a new face of Law. Actually we have been talking of many other areas, for instance there will be some new laws coming in on the equality and empowerment of women. So there will be another group of lawyers who specializes in that on whether it should only be the female lawyers or male lawyers as well. It is matter for the Colombo High Court Lawyer’s.
A series of laws related to environment and climate change, and the Courts where the jurisdiction should be vested will most probably be the High Court. As we go along there will be new laws that would be made and as the new laws are being made, High Court will have a new role to play. Just as much as you can lose on some you can gain on others.
We are meeting now after a very turbulent year which tested the limits of our constitution and its ability to survive the turbulent times. We must remember that the Courts still have and it had an important role and continue to play that important role.
What is the role of law in the 21st Century, how far should our courts change? How far should we speed up justice? In that I think the High Court will have an important role to play. There are many issues that have come up with the people with clients on how we can get justice faster? How can we ensure that our litigation is not one that will bury us with the cost and its one that we should end.
These are some of the issues that will come up and you in the High Court will be at the centre of it to decide the role of the High Court and what your attitude is towards speeding up justice and making it available to all which of cause will take us into the question of legal aid. We have to provide more legal aid. I am sure these are matters which you will address after tonight because first you have to go back to practice at the Bar and that certainly include any of the questions or the matters I have raised with you. That is the tradition and of cause you are looking at me to see what I am going to do about your Club. Yes we will find the land and we will get you the club.
The High Court Lawyers have always been with me and you are guarding angels. U.R de Silva is regularly in touch with me on issues when I was the Prime Minister and earlier. You have become an important cog in the system of Justice, an important cog amongst the Court’s System. It’s you the lawyers who really supported. I am sure what you have done here will not go unnoticed.
So my duty here is to wish you well and to say that I am here to help you, except in matters with the Dangerous Drugs Amendment. Any of the other issues certainly you can come to me.
President’s Media Division