Sri Lanka rejects UN rapporteur's report on independence of judiciary

by Sutharshan
Jun 21, 2017

Sri Lanka’s Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe accused the UN Special Rapporteur on Independence of Judges and Lawyers of violating “the country’s sovereignty.”

Rejecting the findings of the Rapporteurs report, Mr Rajapakshe said, “we are surprised by the allegations made by her who was in Sri Lanka for only seven days."

"Her knowledge on the judicial systems of various countries is questionable. This report will tarnish Sri Lanka’s image and violate the country’s sovereignty. Ms Pinto in her report alleged that the Constitutional Council is no independent as all appointments are made by the president.”

The Sri Lankan minister added that the governement had already made arrangements to notify the UN on its stance with regards to the UN report through diplomatic channels. 

The minister’s statement comes in response to discussion of the damning UN report at the 35th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The report found that Sri Lanka’s justice system faced systemic issues that amounted to the denial of justice, with an adverse impact on the Tamil community.

See more here.

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