:: Judicial Service Commission Secretariat ::

Hon.Jus.Ashoka de Silva

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and Chairman of the Judicial Service Commission

Message of the chief Justice

I am pleased to convey this message on the occasion of the re-launching of the website of the Judicial Service Commission. I believe the creation of this website is yet another step forward in the direction of furthering transparency and efficiency in the judicial system.

On this occasion I feel it is incumbent upon me to reflect on the present judicial system in this country. The success of a legal system should be benchmarked against the following criterion as identified by Lord Chancellor Woolf in 1994.

The notion of judicial independence must be permanently etched in our hearts and souls if we are to ensure fairness and justice. We should bear in mind that ultimately we are individually responsible for maintaining our independence. The citizens of our country demand that each case is heard and decided on an objective evaluation of the law, without the influence of outside factors, both real and perceived. The Judicial Service Commission is prepared at all times to assist any judge who feels that his or her independence is threatened or at risk of compromise. In fact it is indeed the mandate of this institution to promote and secure judicial independence.

Our legal system to date has been unable to find a lasting solution to the question of laws delays. Delays at the appellate stage were sought to be reduced by the introduction of the Civil Appellate High Courts. From the reports I receive the working of the civil appellate high courts needs reconsideration.

This is a concern common for all judicial systems. Our closest neighbour, India, whom we share many similarities with experimented with the use of IT in the early 1990s and found remarkable success in this regard. Sri Lanka has only begun to take the first tentative steps in that direction. As Dr. Justice G.C. Bharuka points out the solution to the problem lies in the synthesis of attitudinal change and the introduction of information technology. I have had the opportunity to witness the use of IT in other jurisdictions, harnessing its power to further the administration of justice. Hopefully the next few years will see the gradual introduction of information technology in to the legal system of Sri Lanka.

I think the training that our judges’ get is totally inadequate compared to the training the judges receive in other jurisdictions. E.g. in Holland before a judge assumes office as a judicial officer a minimum of five years training is given. This sought of training of course, we cannot provide. However I suggest that a minimum of one year’s training is necessary for judges to start their judicial career.

Finally I wish to express gratitude to all those involved in the re-launching of this website and hope that it would be enhanced from being purely, a source of information to the public on the activities of the Judicial Service Commissions to being an online portal where services can be granted over the internet to both judges and the public.

JAN De Silva
Chief Justice