Sri Lanka: Politicised Courts, Compromised Rights
INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP
Sri Lanka: Politicised Courts, Compromised Rights
Colombo/Brussels, 30 June 2009: The Sri Lankan government must reform the country’s judicial system urgently if the military defeat of the Tamil Tigers is to lead to a lasting peace.
Sri Lanka’s Judiciary: Politicised Courts, Compromised Rights,* the latest policy report from the International Crisis Group, warns that the Sri Lankan judiciary is not working in a fair and impartial way that secures justice and human rights for everyone regardless of ethnicity. This risks undermining the government’s recent military victory over the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam). A durable national reconciliation process is only possible if human and constitutional rights are fully restored.
“The judiciary has not acted as a check on presidential and legislative power but has instead contributed to the political alienation of Tamils”, says Robert Templer, Crisis Group’s Asia Program Director. “Under the former chief justice, the Supreme Court’s rulings strengthened political hardliners among Sinhala nationalist parties”.
Rather than assuaging conflict, the courts have corroded the rule of law and worsened ethnic tensions. They are neither constraining militarisation of Sri Lankan society nor protecting minority rights. Instead, a politicised bench has entrenched favoured allies, punished foes and blocked compromises with the Tamil minority. The judiciary’s intermittent interventions on important political questions have limited settlement options for the ethnic conflict.
Today, neither the lower nor the higher courts in Sri Lanka provide any guarantee of personal security or redress against arbitrary state violence. Although torture in police custody is endemic, courts are unwilling to provide adequate remedies for illegal or abusive detention. Police, judges and government officials have acted in ways that further the goals of powerful political actors, undermine the rule of law and deepen the current political and humanitarian crisis. The possibility of transitional justice, which is necessary for society to break the cycle of violence, is still missing.
The recent appointment of a new chief justice is an opportunity for reforms to begin. A first step toward restoring judicial independence would be a return to an orderly appointment and transfer of judges. This needs to be done both in the lower and appellate judiciary. There should also be fundamental reform of Sri Lanka’s extensive and often abused emergency laws, which are used disproportionately against Tamils. Provisions in the emergency laws concerning arrest, detention and derogation from routine criminal procedures need to be removed, as well as those that criminalise free speech and the exercise of associational rights.
“Fixing institutions and reforming laws will only have a limited effect until political actors, and especially the presidency, feel the cost of infringing on judicial independence”, warns Donald Steinberg, Crisis Group Deputy President for Policy. “Without a concerted effort by the bench and bar, the political costs of interfering with the judiciary will remain minimal”.
Read the full Crisis Group briefing on our website: http://www.crisisgroup.org
Guinea-Bissau: Beyond Rule of the Gun
INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP
Guinea-Bissau: Beyond Rule of the Gun
Dakar/Brussels, 25 June 2009: Without outside help to end military involvement in politics and impunity, it may be impossible to halt Guinea-Bissau’s slide into further violence.
Guinea-Bissau: Beyond Rule of the Gun*, the latest policy briefing from the International Crisis Group, warns that the killings of General Tagme (the chief of defence staff) and President Vieira in March, as well as the recent assassinations of opposition leaders and former ministers, are an indication the democratic process cannot cope. The military’s use of force has overwhelmed state institutions. Both the political elites and the international community must send a strong message condemning the widespread abuses committed by the armed forces.
“The commission of inquiry established to investigate the killings is likely to be fatally weakened by a lack of political will to uncover the truth. There is a widespread fear of intimidation and retaliation”, says Mohamed Jalloh, Crisis Group Analyst. “Without international involvement, it is highly unlikely that the true culprits will be identified. This reflects the inability of the justice system to counter impunity. It is not able to deal with the widespread criminality linked to drug trafficking that has engulfed the country”.
The international community should capitalise on the 28 June presidential election to signal that the continued use of force and human rights abuses are unacceptable and will entail consequences. Though the presidential election represents an opportunity to end the present deadlock, there is no guarantee that it will be sufficient to break the cycle of military involvement in politics.
The international community condemned the recent assassinations but at the same time it has approved the interim government and the planned election. No president of Guinea-Bissau has successfully completed the constitutionally-mandated five-year term since the country’s return to multi-party rule in 1994. And General Tagme is the third chief of defence staff to be assassinated in nine years.
Political leaders cannot stand up to the military without support. Guinea-Bissau’s effort to reform its security system needs to be enhanced by improved international coordination and creation of a national commission with enhanced autonomy to provide domestic ownership of the process.
“There is no guarantee that Sunday’s presidential election will be enough to break the cycle of military involvement in politics”, says Francois Grignon, Crisis Group’s Africa Program Director. “Both Guinea-Bissau’s democratic forces and the international community have to make stronger efforts to deal with military power. Otherwise there will be neither real political stability nor a viable democratic process”.
Read the full Crisis Group briefing on our website: http://www.crisisgroup.org
