The New president of the Bar association of Sri Lanka, Anura Meddegoda, in an interview to the Colombo based Daily Mirror, stated that, “If war crimes aren’t investigated even political leaders might have travel restrictions”.His statement comes at a time seen as crucial to the new government of Sri Lanka's president Anura Kumara Dissanayake(AKD) in establishing itself.
The new NPP led government is seen by the ordinary and the rich citizens of the island nation, as a government that will take the right steps to reverse the country's tarnished image due to heavy corruption and equally its worst humann rights record. It is at this juncture Mr.Meddagoda's interview attempts to shed some light into the reality, especially to the intransigent Sinhala chauvinist politicians and the Buddhist clergymen. With all the due credits and thanks to the Daily Mirror and the interviewer, this interview is being linked.
- Anura Meddegoda’s appointment comes at a crucial time when the name of the institution has been tarnished by allegations of corruption and fraud
- There are issues when ensuring that there is independence of judiciary and independence of the judges
- During the period of the Aragalaya (Protest), the public acclaimed the Bar Association
- He says that the Bar has stood up for good governance
- In the last three weeks, we haven’t had any major incidents of violence. At least, we should be happy about it
- We have not had leaders leading by example. There is one set of rules for those who are in office and another set of rules for ordinary people. So, we can’t do that. We must be governed by one set of rules
A senior legal practitioner with a wide range of experiences serving national and international judiciary, President’s Counsel Anura Meddegoda was recently appointed as the President of the Bar Association of Srl Lanka. With over 40 years of experience in the legal field, out of which half of it was served at the Attorney General’s Department as a State attorney, Meddegoda has served as a Legal Advisor to The Hague’s United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for nearly a decade. He also served as the former Chairman of the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA).
Meddegoda has taken on the mantle as the head of the BASL, which has over 20,000 members who are lawyers and judges around the country. His appointment comes at a crucial time when the name of the institution has been tarnished by allegations of corruption and fraud. At a time when the BASL also marks its golden jubilee (this year), Meddegoda in a candid interview with the Daily Mirror shared his thoughts about the BASL, its role and pertinent issues in Sri Lanka’s legal system.
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