Petition filed against appointment of new CIABOC DG

A fundamental rights petition has been filed before the Supreme Court challenging the recent appointment of W.K.D. Wijeratne as the Director General of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption.

The petition was filed by Counsel Jagath Talgaswattage on behalf of petitioner, Energy Expert and Sustainability Specialist Dr. Vidhura Ralapanawe. 

In the petition, Ralapanawe maintained that the appointment of Wijeratne to the post is a blatant violation of the Constitution and the law. He noted that the illegal nature of the contested appointment, every action and function of the CIABOC connected to the Director-General would be considered unlawful and subject to challenge in present and future legal proceedings.

The petition maintained that this situation risks bringing all actions related to CIABOC, the authority responsible for tackling bribery and corruption, to a halt thus jeopardising Sri Lanka’s socio-political and economic recovery but also undermines the Rule of Law and the stability of the State itself.

The petitioner emphasised that if the issues raised are not promptly addressed, they will undoubtedly undermine all efforts made by the petitioner, citizens, the State, civil society organisations, international and national development partners, as well as friendly governments and diplomats to combat bribery and corruption, and to promote transparency and good governance in Sri Lanka.

The petitioner highlighted that, despite the specific recommendation of the IMF, the Constitutional Council did not establish an Advisory Committee to assist in the identification of candidates for CIABOC. This failure, the petitioner alleges, was motivated by apparent mala-fide reasons.

The petitioner asserts that although the Constitutional Council eventually developed the relevant rules, they were openly disregarded during the contested appointment of Wijeratne.

Furthermore, the petitioner contends that although the stated rules were intended to ensure that “selected candidates meet the highest levels of professionalism, ethical conduct, and integrity,” it seems that the Constitutional Council and its members failed to adhere to these rules. He said this failure is evident either in the selection and appointment of the Commissioners, as the Gazette was published after the announcement date of their appointment, or in the selection and appointment of the Director-General.