Lawyers for Democracy calls for Ministerial Code of Conduct

Lawyers for Democracy (LfD) in a statement said it is appalled by the continuous threats by the Minister of Justice on one of its co-conveners Lakshan Dias. 

The full statement released by the organisation is given below:  

Dias is an Attorney at Law of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and an active member of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka. He had served in several committees of the Bar Association previously. He is a lawyer who has taken serious interest in the rights of the legal profession as a whole and on the administration of justice and independence of the judiciary. He was one of the lawyers who took active part against the impeachment of the former Chief Justice Shiranee Bandaranayake. Dias has been in the forefront of the democratic struggle for decades and stood for the protection of human rights and democratic values of the country amidst challenging conditions. He is an outspoken critic of extremist elements who propagate violence. His contribution to establish ethnic and religious harmony is well-recognised.  LfD is shocked and dismayed by the unfair, capricious and incautious remarks made by Minister of Buddha Sasana and Justice Wijedasa Rajapakse, threatening Dias to apologise to the nation on certain statistics given by him on attacks on churches recently. More seriously, the Minister has threatened to take legal action within 24 hours if Dias does not tender an apology. Again, in an interview with an English newspaper, the Minister indirectly called him a traitor and accused Dias as having been in a mission to spoil the reconciliation process. 

The Minister went on to say that ‘these people behave in a manner similar to animals’. Such statements are unbecoming of a Minister particularly the Minister of Justice. Moreover, his remarks are also unprofessional and unwarranted and have a chilling effect on the society and on the legal profession as a whole.