NEWSLG polls: Cardinal asks Prez to abide by SC orderPublished

Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith yesterday (13) declared that President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is also the Finance Minister, had to carry out the interim order issued by the Supreme Court on March 03 pertaining to a fundamental rights petition filed by SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara.

Addressing the media at the Bishop’s House, Borella, the Cardinal strongly criticised President Wickremesinghe’s conduct and statements by SLPP parliamentarian Premanath Dolawatte and State Finance Minister Shehan Semasinghe.

The Cardinal said Parliament had the authority to decide on suitable laws and rules for the country, but the interpretation of the application of these laws in concrete situations was the province of the judiciary. That power had not been conferred on the Parliament, the Church leader said.

The following is the text of a statement issued by Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith Archbishop of Colombo:

” It was reported in the media that two Members of Parliament have spoken concerning the judgment given by the Supreme Court enforcing on the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance as well as the Attorney General the allocation of funds, that had been approved by the Parliament for conducting the local government elections, which were scheduled to be held on the 9th March 2023, calling this decision a violation of their parliamentary privileges by the Courts. This matter is to be viewed with great concern and I wish to comment on it as follows.

This request by the two parliamentarians is not in keeping with the dignity and the freedom of the Supreme Court in deciding on this matter and so any interference on the basis of parliamentary privileges is totally unacceptable and I wish to condemn this attitude quite firmly.

On a previous occasion in a judgment given by the Supreme Court in the case reported in (1999) 1 SRI LR 157 on a contention between Dayananda Dissanayake, Commissioner of Elections and others against Karunatilleke and others, the judgment given very clearly affirmed that according to the provision No. 14 (1) of the National Constitution, the Courts accepted that the citizens of this country have a right to exercise their freedom to express themselves and to speak out also through the medium of elections basing itself also on the principle that people have the right to elect their own representatives during a course of a scheduled election.

According to the Constitution of Sri Lanka it is clear that the Supreme Court is the highest and last decision making body in matters concerning the interpretation and application of law to concrete situations. In this matter the Supreme Court holds the authority as the last source of appeal in all matters, as it has been assigned such authority by the very Constitution of the nation.

The Parliament as the law making body has the authority to decide on suitable laws and rules for the country. Yet, the interpretation on the application of these laws in concrete situations belongs to the judiciary. That power has not been conferred on the Parliament.

The Executive is bound to ensure that the laws that are passed by the Parliament are carefully implemented and that the wellbeing of the people is always ensured. The Executive does not have the authority to violate International Human Rights stipulations and the basic Human Rights Chapter inserted into the National Constitution. The President who is appointed as the Executive authority, always taking his oaths, assures that he or she will preserve carefully the provisions of the Constitution. He or she also accepts that they will work for the dignity and the progress of the people. As such the Executive does not have the authority to interpret the law according to their wishes, or to try to enforce them according to the way they visualize. In a similar fashion even though the Parliament prepares the legal bills and the rules and regulations concerning the country, it has no authority to decide on the implementation of the law according to their whims and fancies.

At this point I wish to remind everybody that in October 2018 the then President removed at his own discretion the Government, of the time where the then Prime Minister was the present President of Sri Lanka, without any legal basis. And so, the same Ranil Wickremesinghe went before the Supreme Court appealing against that decision and by order given on 13th December 2018, after a hearing of Case SC FR 351/218, the Court ruled the decision of the then President illegal and he had to eat humble pie and reappoint the same government of Wickramasinghe.

What is surprising is that the same Ranil Wickramasinghe who sought refuge in the Supreme Court that time is now allowing parliamentarians to belittle and criticize the decision of the Supreme Court in this case. We see a deep contradiction in his behaviour.

Hence since no one has the authority to interfere in the decision of the Supreme Court, it is clear that the judgement given on 3rd March 2023 by the Supreme Court binds on the President, the Government and the Parliament in equal measure. And so they need to follow that decision faithfully. Else they would be belittling the authority of the Supreme Court and undermining the very basis of democracy in our country.

I appeal that action be taken against such Ministers and MPs to ensure that the freedom of the judiciary is maintained at all costs without interference from petty politics and concerns.”