Appointment of international experts:

CJ hails Govt’s decision

by Manjula Fernando

Chief Justice Mohan Peiris dismissing criticism over the appointment of three international experts to advise the Commission on Missing Persons, said the Government could not have taken a better decision to silence its international detractors.

“From what I know of the experts, they are of very high repute and this action should satisfy the international community completely,” the Chief Justice said.

“This has been one cry of the Human Rights Council, to seek expertise of international standard.”

He said the international panellists with impeccable records and vast experience in the conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Gaza, will be of great assistance to the missing persons panel to seek expertise in areas of international law.

Their help will be sought in interpreting specialised areas, such as accountability, collateral damage in relation to international humanitarian law, international human rights law and customary international law.Sri Lanka has always maintained that its internal process can cater to the requirements of the international community.

“And that is what we have been doing. What the Government has done today is take that step further and internationalise the local mechanism, which I think is a very prudent step in the right direction,” the Chief Justice said.

Commenting on the criticism that this move by the government could one day boomerang and compromise the country’s sovereignty, he said their mandate clearly specified that the appointment is in an advisory capacity without investigative powers.

“Those who don’t know how these tribunals work are the ones who have been hypersensitive about it,” he said adding that, if not those criticisms may have been “politically motivated”.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa appointed three experts, Sri Lankan born British legal luminary Sir Desmond de Silva (Chairman), Sir Jeffrey Nice and Prof David Crane recently to advise the Maxwell Paranagama Commission on disappearances.