Slandering judges in the media is damaging for the whole judiciary

By Gamini Abeywardane

Much has been said in the electronic media in particular over the past few days concerning the slandering, criticizing and threatening of judges in the online media on judgments delivered by them. Among them was the allegation that telephone lines of a judge who had given a dissenting judgment in a politically sensitive case had been tapped and his email hacked. Even the Bar Association of Sri Lanka had taken the matter up with due seriousness and had even indicated their willingness to pursue legal action against the wrong doers.

One thing that we all should bear in our minds is that in a multi-judge bench any judge has a right to differ in his opinion for which he gives his reasons. That is the very reason why there are panels consisting of several judges where verdicts are given according to the majority opinion. The traditions have been part of our judicial system for centuries. Whether a judge is right or wrong is a matter of opinion and no outsider should have the authority go into that except a higher court in appeal.

As pointed out by the bar association, judges unlike politicians or other officials are not supposed to come out and defend themselves when they are attacked through the media. Like others judges are also subject to all human frailties and there have been enough incidents both here and abroad where judges have even been removed or punished for wrong doings. But there is a well-established procedure for doing so without damaging the entire institution.

Merely opening the gates of the media to bring unsubstantiated and baseless allegations against the judges will only bring the entire judiciary into disrepute in the eyes of the ordinary people who often look up to the institution for relief whenever they are wronged. A free Judiciary is an important element in a democracy and safeguarding the sanctity of that institution is a sacred duty of all the people.

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Sustainable garbage disposal method needed

 

The idea of converting garbage into usable forms of alternative energy and fertilizer has been discussed from time to time. Many times we have heard that some foreign companies together with local partners also had submitted proposals for such garbage disposal projects.

By Gamini Abeywardane

The residents of Ja-Ela and Ekala have launched a massive protest campaign against the government’s move to relocate the Meethotamulla garbage dump to Ja-Ela in terms of an undertaking given by the Colombo Municipal Council to the Supreme Court.
This was the result of a fundamental rights petition filed by the residents of Meethotamulla seeking a declaration from Court that the proposed expansion of the dumping site was an imminent infringement of their fundamental rights
The petitioners had cited the CMC, Urban Development Authority, Western Province Waste Management Authority, Central Environmental Authority, Kolonnawa Municipal Council and the Attorney General as respondents.
The campaign is supported by Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith and the Catholic Church on the ground that it will contaminate the water bodies and pollute the entire Ja-Ela area. 
The unfortunate thing is that the government’s move is far from a solution to the issue as relocating the garbage dump is only an attempt to shift the problem to a new area instead of resolving it.
The gravity of the issue is evident as Meethtamulla garbage dump which has been there for quite some time has already caused immense health problems to the people in the surrounding area.  As reported around 30 people of the area have already died due to dengue, rat fever, skin diseases and kidney problems.
As petitioners in the fundamental rights case had pointed out there are more sustainable solutions other than dumping of garbage in open areas which could bring an end to this problem, but such measures are not being taken by the respondents.
The idea of converting garbage into usable forms of alternative energy and fertilizer has been discussed from time to time. Many times we have heard that some foreign companies together with local partners also had submitted proposals for such garbage disposal projects.
However due to some reasons none of these projects have taken off the ground and in fact many of them have been shot down by various parties as non-feasible but without proposing any viable alternatives to the problem.
It is also no secret that garbage disposal, especially its transport is a huge business and there have been allegations that local government officials often work in collusion with transport business and they prefer to continue dumping garbage in their favourite sites.
Some developed countries like Japan have long been using sustainable methods of disposing garbage with advanced technology to convert them into energy and fertilizer.  It’s time for the government to come up with a universally accepted solution to the growing problem of garbage which is closely connected to urbanization.  The problem which is currently acute in Colombo and suburbs could become a serious issue with rapid urbanization.

 

 

 

 

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