Associated Press,  Wed Mar  7 09:09:31 EST 2007

  COLOMBO, March 7 (Kyodo)  Sri Lanka's Court of Appeal has dismissed an application to strike down as illegal the February 2000 Ceasefire Agreement between the government and Tamil rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. Full Story


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- The Academic

It was a politically motivated decision. Althogh I sympathize with the learned and honorable Judge, it is yet another example of bending the law. The widespread bending of the law in Sri Lanka and conventions began with the  the change to the 1978 Constituion and encouragement by foreign diplomats, lending and aid agencies to bend provisions of various laws to enable them to implement their projects. Enforcing agreements in violation of the constituion by successive presidents do not make those agreements constituional and legal. There are constituional provisions in regard to the procedures to change the constitution. Those procedures were not followed by the presidents concerned.

One too many time SL court pleases JVP and co….but this time have to reject it to please the donor countries, so that SL Politician can fill their pocket!!! Yes as previous post, it’s politically motivated.

Dear Amicus,

Most measures taken by governments under a state of emergency contravene provisions of the constitution, and therefore could be interpreted as unconstitutional. But, there is nothing illegal about the declaration of emergency or the consequences, if proper procedure is followed.

It is not unheard of for governments to enter into agreements with rebel/terror groups as a part of finding solutions to existing problems.

In signing the CFA, the PM at the time did not go against the wishes of the President. She was kept in the dark by RW, but for the sake of finding a solution to a problem, she did not veto the agreement. Implementing the CFA ignoring a Presidential veto would have been anti-constitutional, but in this case there was no such veto.

The JVP is very likely to appeal against the judgement, and it should indeed be very interesting to see what the decision of the SC would be.


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"I do not suffer from Autism, but I do suffer from the way you treat me." -Tyler Durdin

enation says:

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One too many time SL court pleases JVP and co….

I do not think that there is any substance in this statement. In fact, other than the demerger decision, is there any other example of 'courts pleasing JVP and co'?

The demerger decision was legally correct because it was the successive governments that did not fully comply with the requirement of the Indo-Lanka Pact by not holding the referendum and continuing with the interim measure. This was in addition to the LTTE violating the pact right from the beginning.


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"I do not suffer from Autism, but I do suffer from the way you treat me." -Tyler Durdin

I too agree as this is a politically motivated move backed by the international community.

The first sign of this was when the bench posponed the hearing to pass the 5th year (which fell on February) anniversary of the CFA so that consequances and the political moves were observed by the bench.

The judge was a tamil. How is that for irony?


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loading... wrote:

The judge was a tamil. How is that for irony?

LTTE's payroll must be more healthier than Govt's ?
Mangala, Sooriya, Those journalists, Police chief Victor and “Tamil” Judge ?!!
(I recon they should also consider employing those deserters and police criminals so at least we can have white van free environment in colombo ?)

loading... wrote:

The judge was a tamil. How is that for irony?

What's the irony?  This Tamil judge has ensured that now the only one who will nullify the CFA and be at the receiving end of the IC will be the LTTE.


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If the only tool you have is a hammer, you will see every problem as a nail.- Abraham Maslow

loading... wrote:

The judge was a tamil. How is that for irony?

A short statement but a clear reflection of the malady that afflicts our society..

Instead of a Sri Lankan judge you see a "Tamil".


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There are no minorities in Sri Lanka. --- Dr.Percy Mahinda Rajapakse Ph.D

AMICUS wrote:

It was a politically motivated decision. Althogh I sympathize with the learned and honorable Judge, it is yet another example of bending the law.

Amicus my friend.. Out of curiosity..In your opinion what would be the decision that would
have satisfied you?

Or in other words what would you have written if the learned judge did strike down the CFA??


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There are no minorities in Sri Lanka. --- Dr.Percy Mahinda Rajapakse Ph.D

Taraki says:

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What's the irony?  This Tamil judge has ensured that now the only one who will nullify the CFA and be at the receiving end of the IC will be the LTTE.

You forgot the saviour of the LTTE - Sarath de Silva. The JVP is very likely to appeal to the SC.


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"I do not suffer from Autism, but I do suffer from the way you treat me." -Tyler Durdin

Taraki wrote:

loading... wrote:

The judge was a tamil. How is that for irony?

What's the irony?  This Tamil judge has ensured that now the only one who will nullify the CFA and be at the receiving end of the IC will be the LTTE.

And that's not irony?


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Like Namdev, I am also ashamed that the honorable judge should hve been described as  a Tamil. He is a Judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. What distinguishes the developed countries from the developing is the commitment of the developed counties   to the rule of law in the narrow sense meaning acceptance by everyone, including the Government, of judgements rendered by the courts - especially at the highest  appellate level, however unpleasant these judgements might seem to political and legal ana;lysts and civil and human rights observers.

No country is perfect, least of all, Sri Lanka. Its 1978 Constituion is an unwieldy divisive instrument which was rushed through a Westminster style parliament by a party that had absolute power because of its large majority. Successive governments have gradually propelled the country into a society in which people do not trust each other and do not respect their own instituions including the judiciary. Everyone wihout exception including the President and Prime Minister must follow the law  and must respect and accept the judgements made even by imperfect judges. People must discipline themselves to comply with the orders, decisions and judgements of judicial tribunals.

To answer Namdev, I respect and accept the honorable judge's decsion. However, I might draw attention to a report of the International Bar Association rejecting the application of the doctrine of necessity regarded by some - incluidng the Norwegian mediators and some government negotiators  - as  a legitimate device to effect needed constituionals. The rule of law is an absolute and should not be compromised at any cost. The country puts itself on a slippery slope leading to a breakdown of law and order. In my opinion, the CFA extended the suffering of the Tamils. The conflict may have been settled by now if the government had taken the stand that the rule of law is sacrosanct and acted accordingly in all its actions and acted in a civilized manner thus gaining the confidence and trust of the Tamils. The present government strategy is self destructive and will inevitably lead to the division of the country because the Tamils see it is a lawless corrupt government..