Sri Lanka’s justice system, legal profession and media are all in peril, according to a report published this week by the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute. “Justice in Retreat: A report on the independence of the legal profession and the rule of law in Sri Lanka” is perhaps the first statement by an internationally reputed professional organization of the threats facing Sri Lanka’s justice system.
The report comes at an important time for Sri Lanka. The government has claimed victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The circumstances surrounding the last days of the war between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan armed forces remain a focal point in the global media, and the U.N. Human Rights Council has called a special session to discuss this situation.
In all discussions the government and all other interested parties talk about bringing a political solution to the problem of minority Tamils in the country. The government’s preferred solution is the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution – devolving power to provincial councils. Even the communiqué issued by the government and the United Nations at the end of U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s visit to Sri Lanka last weekend mentions the government’s commitment to the 13th Amendment.
The question is, can this amendment be implemented when the justice system, the legal profession and the media are in peril?
Over the long period of conflict, which dates back at least 31 years, the problem has almost always been described as an ethnic issue. However, it appears clearly now that the ethnic divisions are only part of a much larger problem. The country’s dysfunctional justice system applies equally to the majority as well as to minorities. Problems affecting the minority cannot be separated from those affecting the entire population.
Justice is the basis of all relationships within a society. Justice determines the limitations on state power. It is those limitations, imposed by law, that ensure the protection of the people’s rights. This includes the rights of women and children; protection against illegal arrest, detention and extrajudicial killing; the right to a fair trial; as well as economic, social and cultural rights.
Minority rights are one more category under the umbrella of citizens’ rights. If the system of justice is in peril then all rights are in peril. Talking only of minority rights is a fiction; it’s like trying to save only one group of people when a nuclear bomb has been dropped on an entire city – in fact all will be affected by the explosion.
What has been said about the justice system can also be said of the legal profession and the media. The legal profession is indispensible in protecting citizens’ rights in any modern society. The task of the profession is to assist citizens who may have a lesser understanding about the system of law. If lawyers cannot provide the services that are expected of them, their clients will suffer. Once again this is a problem that affects all. Without addressing a problem that affects all it is not possible to address the problem of the minorities only.
Also, the media is essential in protecting the people’s rights. If the media is in peril the rights of all are in peril. Everyone will be denied the right to information, which is the sole basis on which well-informed judgments can be made. If the people are denied the information needed to make rational judgments, their decisions may be irrational and ineffective. There can be a healthy relationship between the majority and minority only if there is a rational discourse between the two.
The impotence of the system of justice, the legal profession and the media is amply illustrated by the manner in which the people displaced by the war, said to number around 300,000, are being treated at the moment. The country’s judicial system is not involved in any way in dealing with this issue. Therefore lawyers have no way to protect the rights of these people. The media are virtually denied access to them as well. Thus, these citizens are being denied basic rights that should be respected under any circumstances.
The situation of the internally displaced persons illustrates that it is not possible to separate the collapse of justice and the silence of the media from the problems of the minority. Under the current situation, citizens are being asked to voluntarily abandon their claims for legal status and legally enforceable rights for the sake of “national security.”
Thus security has come to mean a situation in which everyone’s rights are an irrelevant factor. In this context the International Bar Association’s report has highlighted a fact that is not only relevant for lawyers, but also for the society as a whole.
Source: Sri Lanka’s justice and media in peril
Filed under: abductions, child rights, civil society, civil war, corruption, extrajudicial killings, human rights, IDPs, illegal arrest, illegal detention, justice, media, police, politics, rule of law, Sri Lanka, violations
