Former CJ’s statement - a figment of his imagination - Hakeem:

No decision to introduce 19th Amendment to Constitution

by Uditha KUMARASINGHE

The Government has not taken any decision to introduce the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem said yesterday.

“Any amendment to the Constitution will be made by the Government only after a comprehensive study on the Constitution, not as a piecemeal amendment,” Minister Hakeem told the Sunday Observer.

The Minister categorically denied a report in an English daily yesterday (not of the Lake House group), which quoted former Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva as saying that the Government was planning to introduce the 19th Amendment to the Constitution which would undermine the independence of the Judiciary.

“The Government has not even thought of such a thing.

This may be the imagination of the former Chief Justice and I think he has got his wires crossed to make such a contradictory statement. It is not worth responding to this kind of imaginary stories,” the Minister said. The Minister said that the Government firmly believes that if any future amendments are introduced to the Constitution, it should be done in a comprehensive manner after an extensive study of the Constitution, not as a piecemeal amendment. The former CJ’s statement is not only mere speculation but he has also commented on various issues which may be a figment of his imagination.

“I can also categorically say that the Government has not discussed any of the issues mentioned by the former CJ. He has simply created a non-existent issue,” the Minister said. Minister Hakeem said during the past one or two weeks, certain attempts have been made through the media to spread baseless speculation about some impending amendments to be introduced to the Constitution.

“These media reports are mere hallucinations to mislead the public.”

The Minister said the present Chief Justice Asoka de Silva is due to retire. During his tenure, some sanity was restored within the judiciary.

Therefore, we should extend our sincere thanks to him towards his attempts made to uphold the independence of the judiciary.

“During the period of the former Chief Justice, his office had turned into a place where people were not able to seek justice through the judiciary.”

There is absolutely no basis in these reports that President Mahinda Rajapaksa intends to interfere with the judiciary, the Minister said.