The National People’s Power (NPP) Government has focus on addressing corruption, and the President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the senior government leadership seem to be frustrated with the Attorney General’s Department (AG) for the ‘slow progress’ on several key cases where indictments have not yet been filed. 

It is clear that the Government wants to begin to deliver on the anti-corruption agenda, and is keen to get things moving quickly. The Sunday Morning reported last Sunday (5) a special meeting was scheduled for yesterday (6) between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Attorney General (AG) Parinda Ranasinghe Jnr., PC at the Presidential Secretariat. This meeting came yesterday amid ongoing speculation that the President’s Office has requested AG Ranasinghe to resign from his post. However, there was no official confirmation that a request to resign was made.

The Sunday Morning reported that a senior official from the AG’s Department clarified that the department could not interfere in ongoing legal matters and any delays in these cases were due to mandatory legal processes. The official had stressed that none of the major cases currently in court had been initiated during the tenure of the current AG. This, in the backdrop of President Dissanayake directing the Ministry of Public Security to expedite investigations into seven high-profile cases; the Central Bank bond scam, Easter Sunday terror attacks, kidnapping and murder of journalist D.P. Sivaram, disappearances of Lalith Kumar and Kugan Muruganandan, murder of Businessman Dinesh Schaffter, and shooting incident in Weligama, etc.

According to the President's Media Division (PMD), President Disanayake held a discussion with the Attorney General and officials from the Attorney General's Department at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday. During the discussion, the President emphasised the importance of coordinated efforts among all institutions working towards the effective enforcement of the law. “President Disanayake highlighted the critical responsibility of the Attorney General’s Department to restore public confidence in the judicial system. He further stressed that public perception regarding political interference must be transformed to ensure trust in the legal process. The President reiterated the Government’s commitment to avoiding any actions that could erode public expectations. He assured that efforts are being made to re-establish confidence in the justice system and restore the principles of fairness and equity in the eyes of the people, " the PMD said. The meeting had been attended by Minister of Justice and National Integration Harshana Nanayakkara, Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security Ravi Seneviratne, Attorney General Parinda Ranasinghe Jnr. PC, along with several officials from the AG’s Department.

While it is important to rebuild public trust in the Judiciary and the State as a whole, history has shown that the wheels of justice are remarkably slow in Sri Lanka. The AG’s Department is not known for their speed and efficiency in prosecuting high profile cases linked to crime and corruption, if it had a reputation for such, Sri Lanka would be a very different place today. Take for example the number of files on Easter Sunday attack suspects which the AG’s Department was sitting on for months, if not years before the attack was actually carried out. The list is long. While there is a case to shine a light on the culture and practice of the State prosecutors’ office, the blame doesn’t end with them alone. One can’t forget that Sri Lankan law enforcement agencies are also not known of doing solid case work and building an iron-clad case which can stand the scrutiny of some of the ‘crème la crème’ of the Sri Lankan legal minds who often appear for many organised criminal elements and other high profile accused. Yes, of course everyone is entitled to a good defence, before the courts.

The current Government desire to fast track high-profile cases to ‘show action’ on the so called ‘big fish’ of corruption, may well backfire on them, if the cases themselves fall apart before courts. Therefore, the Government ought to put some of the anti-corruption focus on judicial and law enforcement reforms, where good police work, with compelling cases can be built in the future, where the AG’s office would be too embarrassed if they lost such cases before a court of law. It may be prudent for the new Government to establish new ‘vetted’ law enforcement units for high profile investigations, and to reform the AG’s office to ensure that those who are ineffective are weeded out from the system. That will likely help build more public confidence in the justice system in the long run.