Quoting political sources, an Ada Derana report yesterday (27) claimed that the appointment of new members for independent commissions is to take place this week. As per the report, calling for applications for these new appointments has been completed, while the consideration of the applications received is underway. A preliminary round of discussions with regard to the appointment of new members is scheduled to take place this week. It was also reported that thus far, over 1,600 applications have been submitted and that the final decision with regard to the appointments will be taken by the Constitutional Council (CC).

Needless to say, appointing new members to independent commissions now receives significantly more attention than before. While this may appear to be a good development, especially given the necessity of having independent commissions to ensure the proper functioning of the overall administration of the country, the reasons for this increased attention are not ones that the public could be happy about.

During the past year (2022), several leading independent commissions faced a number of challenges in performing their duties, especially from the political authority. The role and conduct of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL), which actively attempted to protect citizens’ rights and freedoms pertaining to expression and dissent, assembly, and movement last year when the country witnessed a spate of anti-Government protests, was severely criticised by members and supporters of the past and present governments. There were also times when pro-Government figures said that the HRCSL was biased toward anti-Government protestors and that therefore, the HRCSL itself was against the Government. The Election Commission (EC) is another such entity, which is currently facing challenges in holding the Local Government (LG) election due to the Government’s alleged inability to provide the necessary funds. In the context of the LG election, recently, several members of the EC received death threats, and EC members supporting the conduct of the LG election have been criticised baselessly. In addition, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), which sought utilities-related decisions by the Government, particularly price and tariff hikes, to be scientific and public-friendly, faced massive opposition from members and supporters of the Government, eventually resulting in the non-implementation of certain proposals by the PUCSL.

There are various claims about the backgrounds in which the above-mentioned developments cropped up and also about the alleged underlying motives of certain members of these independent commissions. However, the problematic manner in which the Government responded to some of the stated incidents, especially in disputes regarding electricity tariff hikes and the date on which the LG election was to be held, begs a question regarding whether there is a friendly environment for independent commissions to deal with issues independently and scientifically in the country. At the same time, since a significant segment of the general public relies on the decisions, recommendations, and influence of these independent commissions, which was evident in the case of the public seeking the HRCSL’s support for redress with regard to rights-related violations, the abovementioned incidents have attracted the public’s attention to the powers of these independent commissions.

Therefore, having established commissions that are promoted as being independent is insufficient. These commissions need to be strengthened by improving the manner in which they and the Government deal with each other in matters concerning the public’s rights. Their decisions should carry more weight than they do now, especially when it comes to the HRCSL of which the decisions are more recommendations and not legally enforceable directives. Most importantly, the status quo in which many decisions and recommendations made by independent commissions, which are perceived by the public as public-friendly, having not received adequate support from the political authority, should be identified as a problematic situation that requires more attention.