THE JUSTICIABILITY OF PRESIDENTIAL ACTS
In a week of high-stakes litigation in the two highest courts in the land, a key question in the public discussion over the continuing constitutional crisis in Sri Lanka has focused on…
Year: 2018
We Want A Home And Country Free Of Violence
The 16 days of Activism Against Violence Against Women, begins on the 25th of November and ends on the 10th of December, on International Human Rights Day. These 16 days of activism…
Sites of Resistance
Frames of Resistance On the 28th of November 2018, at the annual National Youth Drama Awards held at Nelum-Pokuna, two young artists – Surin Chamara and Kasun Ukwatta – made a singular…
The Politics of Bedlam and Imperfect Constitutional Provisions
The recent politico-constitutional crisis marks a resurgence of interest in interpretation of imperfect constitutional provisions. Translating this interest into a meaningful dialogue may not be an easy task as Sri Lanka’s Constitution…
On the Comparison of Sri Lanka’s Present Constitutional Question with the Dismissal of the Whitlam Government in Australia
“Most countries with a Parliamentary form of government have ceremonial heads of state. Even in such countries, the head of state can exercise his discretion in dissolving Parliament. The British constitutional authority…
Crisis as Second Chance?
Time will say nothing but I told you so…” WH Auden (If I Could Tell You) Ravindra Wijegunaratne, Admiral and Chief of Defence Staff, epitomised impunity as he swaggered into Fort Magistrate…
Value Education and Literature
Editor’s Note: Delivered at the Open University on November 30th 2018 Throughout the world today we bemoan the lack of values. No one quite knows what that means and a good post-modernist…
An appeal for national stability from religious leaders
Photo courtesy Article 14 This statement is being issued by a multi-religious group of Sri Lankan citizens, including several religious leaders, with no vested interests. We have been compelled to come together…
Constitutions need constitutionalism
In the present constitutional-political crisis, which began in the evening of October 26, 19thAmendment to the 1978 Constitution has come under severe scrutiny. Underlying it is a war of interpretations between two…
Samanalun, Godayas and Our Words
When I first heard the word used, it was not directed at me. And yet, it was. It was so innocuous – someone said that a name for some team we were…
The Removal of the Prime Minister and the Dissolution of Parliament: A Legal Opinion
This legal opinion was prepared by Gehan Gunatilleke, Dinesha Samararatne, Kalana Senaratne and Asanga Welikala in response to a request made by Dr Jayampathy Wickramaratne, P.C, Member of Parliament. Since 26th October 2018, Sri Lanka…
Nevertheless, They Persisted
On November 28, a nonpartisan group of women (and a few supportive men) walked from Galle Face Green to the Presidential Secretariat. It was raining heavily, but the group was firm in…
US-Saudi Relations: A Diabolical Rendezvous
By turning a blind eye to the brutal murder of Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, in the name of making ‘America Great Again’, President Donald Trump has sacrificed justice for power and profit;…
Mark Zuckerberg Has Lost Control of Facebook
BRUSSELS – When Mark Zuckerberg, the chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Facebook, appeared before the European Parliament in May, I suggested to him that he had lost control of his company. As one of…
To the President: A request on behalf of the children of Sri Lanka
Mr. President, A single arbitrary and unilateral decision taken by you, on the 26th of October, set in motion a sequence of events that now has thrown an entire country and all…