The Legal Officers’ Association of the Attorney General’s Department, on Thursday (28) noted with concern a letter sent by the Judicial Service Association (JSA) of Sri Lanka, addressed to the President, opposing the appointment of a Senior State Counsel of the Attorney General’s Department, Nayani Kasturiratne, as a High Court judge on the basis that the officer was a junior officer.

“The facts stated in the aforesaid letter are factually incorrect. It is a matter of regret that the JSA should make representations that do not accurately represent all material facts when stating that the officer from the Attorney General’s Department is “a far junior

officer compared to the judicial officers who are next in line in judicial seniority”. It has long been the tradition that officers of the Attorney General’s Department have enriched the judiciary, at various levels, and there are more appointments to be made to the judiciary in the near future,” the Legal Officers’ Association said in a statement.

Given below is the statement:

“Four new High Court judges were appointed recently. Among those appointed was a former Senior State Counsel, having 16 years of experience in the Attorney General’s Department, who had been nominated by the Attorney General for this judicial position.

“The Legal Officers’ Association expresses its appreciation that one of its officers has been recognized for this judicial office. Officers of the Attorney General’s Department have wide experience in both the civil and criminal courts as well as in original and appellate courts. They are exposed to high profile litigation and are often opposed to the best in the profession.

They are in court on a daily basis and carry a large volume of work often appearing in multiple cases on a single day. These officers also perform other duties such as providing advice to government departments and corporations and appear in commercial arbitrations, international arbitrations and before various other tribunals and participate in international conferences and workshops. They are also subject to continuous training and most officers at the rank of Senior State Counsel and above hold Masters Degrees in Law.

“In this background the Legal Officers’ Association notes with concern that it was reported that the Judicial Service Association (JSA) of Sri Lanka had addressed a letter to His Excellency the President opposing the appointment of the aforesaid Senior State Counsel as High Court judge on the basis that the officer was a junior officer. This position is factually inaccurate. The Officer nominated by the Attorney General had 16 years of service in the department and had a vast experience supervising officers in the circuits as well as in Colombo.

In comparison, one of the officers from the career judiciary who was appointed as a judge of the High Court last week also had 16 years of experience in the judiciary and had only a few more months’ experience in judicial service than the nominee of the Attorney General. It is a matter of regret that the JSA should make representations that do not accurately represent all material facts when stating that the officer from the Attorney General’s Department is “a far junior officer compared to the judicial officers who are next in line in judicial seniority”. It has long been the tradition that officers of the Attorney General’s Department have enriched the judiciary at various levels. It is thus that the judiciary is composed of judges with a wide and varied experience drawn from the official bar, the un-official bar and the career judiciary. It would be inimical to the interests of having a competent judiciary with a wide range of experience to give to one source of judicial appointments priority over another.

The Legal Officers’ Association of the Attorney General’s Department resolves that these concerns be communicated to his Excellency the President, His Lordship the Chief Justice and the Judicial Service Commission, for consideration in the making of future judicial appointments.”