President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said no one should expect political intervention, special decisions or pardons from the executive to overturn or circumvent final court rulings and sentences, as the Government would unconditionally abide by them.
Addressing the Badulla District Women’s Conference, the President said everyone must comply with judicial decisions and that the Government would provide no avenue to evade sentences or secure changes to rulings outside the judicial process.
He said the enforcement of the law against people who once believed they were beyond its reach had caused considerable agitation in recent days. While protective barriers surrounding such individuals had previously rendered the law ineffective, he said it was now being applied equally to everyone.
Those who had enjoyed privileges and undue protection under the previous system were protesting because they now realised they could face punishment under the law, he added.
The President said the Attorney General’s Department and the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption instituted proceedings under laws passed by Parliament, while investigations were conducted by the Police, the Criminal Investigation Department and the Bribery Commission.
He said responsibility for hearing those cases and delivering final judgments rested with the courts, including the Supreme Court, and that the relevant institutions had been empowered to function independently.
Once the Supreme Court had delivered a ruling, no one had the right to exert pressure demanding that it be withdrawn, he said. Although those unwilling to accept what he described as correct judicial decisions could protest, the Government would always abide by the Supreme Court’s determinations.
The President added that building a country that offered genuine protection and fairness to future generations required the unconditional protection of the rule of law and independent judicial decisions.
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