A committee has been appointed to study on the sentencing and bail policy to reduce inconsistencies, Justice and Buddhasasana Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said at a media briefing at the Government Information Department yesterday.
Minister Rajapakshe was responding to a question from the media concerning the differences in bail and sentencing policies followed by the judiciary regarding Kumar Gunaratnam and the outdated passport case against Wimal Weeravansa.
“There are certain inconsistencies regarding the sentencing policy and bail policy in Sri Lanka. Thus it should not be misinterpreted as the court is favouring a certain party.
Currently, the granting of bail and sentencing is based on Discretionary Jurisdiction. The decisions of bail or sentencing on seemingly two identical cases, shall differ,” he said.
“Foreign countries usually have a guide when using Discretionary Jurisdiction, which we do not have in Sri Lanka, which may cause this inconsistency. We have formed a committee to study sentencing policy and bail policy while paying special attention to laws in foreign countries regarding bail and sentencing,” the minister said.
“The rule of law is the foremost check on political power used against people’s rights. Protecting the judiciary is the responsibility of all parties. There was a series of unfair criticisms, false rumours etc. about magistrates, spread by the Lankaenews website,” he said.
“The website was using unacceptable language in the articles it was publishing. Magistrates were badly affected, both career and emotional wise, because of these rumours. I was planing to go to court regarding this matter when the Gampaha Magistrate’s Court issued an international arrest warrant against the Lankaenews Editor for contempt of court, for publishing a photograph of a suspect in a case of assault, even before the suspect was produced for an identification parade,” Minister Rajapakshe said.
Referring to the ISIS claim made by him, the minister said he stands by his statement despite who says what.
“I have received information when I made the comment and I am responsible for every statement I make. My statement may seem controversial, depending on with what point of view people take. The situation I was referring to is a thing that many are unwilling to shed light on. I made this statement so that a discussion will rise,” Rajapakshe said.
“If a discussion rises, it will prevent any social conflict. These matters are highly emotional, so it is important that we make space for discussion. A small incident can cause a catastrophe. My intention was to stop such a disaster taking place,” Minister Rajapakshe said.