Convincing the international community that Sri Lanka did not need foreign judges is a victory to the independence of judiciary, President Maithripala Sirisena said.
He was addressing the gathering at the annual conference and workshop of the judges yesterday at the Galadari Hotel, Colombo.
The President said he believed in the unbiased judicial process of Sri Lanka.
He said he attended the annual conference of the Sri Lanka Judges' Institute for three consecutive years and it helped him to address their problems easily. The President said discussions were being held with relevant authorities to increase judges' salaries and they were satisfactory.
“Nearly 90 percent of the issue lies in the system and that needs to be addressed. The people have lost trust in judiciary and it is one of our primary concerns. We need to march forward by resolving the issues while ensuring that we have an independent judiciary,” he said. The President noted that the judges were able to deliver judgements independently and a judicial-friendly background was created in the last three years.
He said a report submitted by a group of United Nations officials on judiciary suggested that the system should be improved and their main concern was language
"All the people do not speak Tamil. Language is a major problem at all state departments. Measures are being taken to address the issue,” he said. The President said the UN officials pointed out that the abilities of the judges must be assessed as well.
He requested the Sri Lanka Judges' Institute to formulate a method to assess the abilities of the judges. He added that before nominating names to the Constitutional Assembly to promote judges, he would always refer to the Attorney General’s Department to know whether any complaints or issues were there against a promotion.
The President said the Judges' Institute should present an accepted method to promote judges. "Complaining after a promotion causes difficulties," he said..
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