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Rajeev elected to LAWASIA Ex Co

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Rajeev Amarasuriya, Secretary of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka has been elected uncontested to the Executive Committee of LAWASIA (The Law Association for Asia and Pacific) for 2021 / 2022.

LAWASIA is a regional association of lawyers, judges, jurists and legal organisations, which advocates for the interests and concerns of the Asia Pacific legal profession.

For over 50 years, LAWASIA has operated as a platform to promote the cross-jurisdictional exchange of legal knowledge; as a voice of the legal profession; and as a conduit for encouraging adherence to mutually held principles of the rule of law, professional integrity and the protection of human rights.

The structure of LAWASIA comprises a Council constituting representatives of all LAWASIA Member Countries including Sri Lanka with a governing Executive Committee elected from among the representatives of the Member Countries.

BASL President Saliya Pieris, PC and BASL Secretary Rajeev Amarasuriya represent Sri Lanka on the LAWASIA Council as the Sri Lanka Councillor and the Alternate Councillor.

Country members of LAWASIA include ; Afghanistan, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, England and Wales, Fiji, Georgia, Germany, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Macau SAR, Malaysia, the Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, United States of America, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.

Amarasuriya commenced his Legal Practice in the Law Chambers of Sanjeeva Jayawardena, PC. He practised law for more than a decade before commencing his own law Chambers. The Executive Committee of LAWASIA for 2021 / 2022 comprises President Melissa K. Pang (Former President of the Law Society of Hong Kong); Immediate Past President Chunghwan Choi (President of the International Association of Korean Lawyers); President Elect Shyam Divan (Senior Advocate from India); Vice President Eric Yang (Managing Partner Bae, Kim & Lee Singapore who is also a former Vice President International Affairs of the Korean Bar Association); Vice President Steven Thiru (Past President of the Malaysian Bar); Vice President Yap Teong Liang (Director, T.L. Yap Law Chambers Singapore) and Members; Rajeev Amarasuriya; Pauline Wright (Immediate Past President of the Law Council of Australia and presently the President of the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties); Yin Baohn (Senior Counsellor of the General Office of the China Law Council); C.M. Chan (President of the Law Society of Hong Kong); Dr. Pinky Anand (Former Additional Solicitor General of India); Toshiro Ueyanagi (Secretary of the Japan Bar Association and Vice Chair of the Kanto Federation of Bar Associations); Angela Y. Lin (Director and Vice Chairperson International Affairs of the Taiwan Bar Association); and Robert Brown (Past Chair, International Section of the American Bar Association).



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Overtime gravy train for public sector back

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Govt. MPs make contradictory statements on state of economy

By Shamindra Ferdinando

UNP National List MP Wajira Abeywardena on Sunday (26) disclosed the issuance of a circular by the Finance Ministry to restore overtime and other payments in the public sector.

The declaration was made in Galle soon after Transport and Media Minister Bandula Gunawardane lamented that the government was short of billions of rupees to pay public sector salaries, pensions, Samurdhi payments and meet recurrent expenditure.

Minister Gunawardena and UNP National List MP Abeywardena addressed the local media after the handing over of several buses to the Galle SLTB depot.

Cabinet Spokesman Gunawardena said that the government needed as much as Rs 196 bn before the Sinhala and Tamil New Year and its projected revenue was Rs 173 bn. In addition to that Rs 500 mn was required to settle what Minister Gunawardena called bilateral debt.

Minister Gunawardane said that a part of the first tranche of USD 333 mn from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would be utilised to pay public sector salaries.

Of the USD 333 mn received so far, USD 121 had been used to pay the first installment of USD 1 bn credit line secured from India early last year, according to State Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya.

Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera in the second week of August last year revealed as much as Rs 3 bn had been paid as overtime to Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) workers for several months. This disclosure was made in response to a query raised by Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella.

One of the major demands of the public sector trade unions on the warpath over the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government’s new tax formula is the restoration of overtime.

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Now, Opposition wants Finance Secy. hauled up before Privileges Committee

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Prof G L Peris

Prof. G. L. Peiris yesterday (27) urged Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena to act speedily on the main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) request to summon Finance Secretary Mahinda Siriwardena before the parliamentary Committee on Ethics and Privileges.

Addressing the media on behalf of the Freedom People’s Alliance, the former External Affairs Minister said that the Treasury Secretary had challenged the parliament by withholding funds allocated in the budget 2023 to the Election Commission thereby sabotaging the election.

Prof. Peiris said that there couldn’t be a far worse violation of parliamentary privileges than a government official undermining Parliament.

Instead of appreciating the intervention made by the Supreme Court to facilitate the delayed Local Government polls, the ruling party had sought to challenge the apex court, Prof. Peiris said, urging Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena to fulfill his obligations.

Prof. Pieris said that if the government lacked funds, just one percent of USS 333 mn received from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was sufficient to conduct the election.

The ex-minister said that the IMF wouldn’t oppose the utilisation of a fraction of the first tranche of USD 2.9 bn loan facility provided over a period of four years to guarantee the constitutional rights of the Sri Lankan electorate. (SF)

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Cabinet nod for fuel distribution by three foreign companies

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By Rathindra Kuruwita

Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera announced yesterday that the Cabinet of Ministers has granted approval for allowing China’s Sinopec, Australia’s United Petroleum and RM Parks of the USA, in collaboration with multinational Oil and Gas Company – Shell plc, to enter the fuel retail market in Sri Lanka.

The minister said that each of the three companies would be given 150 dealer operated fuel stations, which are currently operated by Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC). A further 50 fuel stations at new locations will be established by each selected company, he said.

They will be granted licences to operate for 20 years to import, store, distribute and sell petroleum products in Sri Lanka, the minister tweeted.

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