‘The Bar cannot afford to be stifled by party politics’: Saliya Pieris, PC

In an interview with Randima Attygalle, the newly elected President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), President’s Counsel Saliya Pieris elucidates on his road map supported by the cornerstones of ‘principled position’ and ‘independence’.

Q: As the 26^th President of the BASL responsible for steering it, how would you define effective leadership?

A: My view of leadership is about building consensus among members and leading through that. It takes more than listening to the wishes of the majority, but also taking the lead on issues discussing and perhaps pointing the way to the path the Association should take.

My take on the members of the BASL is that a vast majority is reasonable and would take a principled position. I think this was evident during this election. I had the support from a cross-section of people. I need to emphasize that this election was not on political lines. Members of the Bar want an independent leadership and I’m not the one who will push my views because I believe that through quiet convincing you can certainly bring people to one table.

Q: You secured a sweeping majority at the recent election. Can you recollect any previous occasions of similar majorities and also of uncontested first time presidencies?

A: There had been large majorities previously when there was a huge gap between the contenders. My predecessor Kalinga Indatissa’s win was a good example in this regard. But if it was among PCs of equal seniority, I can’t recall a similar majority where there were two candidates of equal seniority. As for uncontested presidencies, Geoffrey Alagaratnam PC was elected uncontested in 2015. There was also an instance when a candidate died and as a result there was no contest.

Q: Taking a ‘principled stand’ was underlined in your manifesto which you reiterated in your address after the announcement of the election results. How do you plan to align the mandate of the BASL with this?

A: The BASL by its mandate is bound to uphold the rule of law, to support the independence of the judiciary and to safeguard the fundamental rights. On these cornerstones, the Bar must take an independent position, irrespective of party politics or whatever the government in power. However, the Bar needs to fully cooperate with the government in furthering the administration of justice. But at the same time, where the government of the day is wrong, if there is a threat to the independence of the judiciary, the rule of law and fundamental rights, the Bar must take up a principled position.

Q: How important do you think it is for the BASL to be more vocal on issues of national interest, to lend voice to social justice, marginalized groups etc.

A: It is imperative that the voice of the Bar is heard as an important institution. But having said that, I repeat that the Bar cannot become politicized, because if it is seen as partisan, it can affect the credibility of the institute. It is only when independent institutes exercise a high degree of independence that there is respect for the views of that particular institution.

Q: What measures do you propose to enable more opportunities to those in the Junior Bar in terms of professional exposure, mentoring etc.?

A: One of the programmes I have already proposed is a mentoring system because today many juniors start practicing on their own without the guidance of a senior lawyer. In the case of my own practice, although I’ve worked with senior lawyers I have never had a permanent senior. I believe that there should be senior lawyers to guide the juniors in the profession.

In the long run, we should also deliberate how the Bar can support new areas of practice. Today there are 800 to 1,000 lawyers passing out annually and many end up in court. But there can be areas such as taxation where many new openings are possible for juniors. We are also looking at how the Bar could facilitate scholarships and exchange programmes to support them. We have also proposed to strengthen the continuity of legal education at district levels in collaboration with the local Bars.

During my election campaign I had very close interaction with hundreds of junior lawyers and my experience with them is that they have a lot of potential, a lot of skills and they are people who like to work hard. I’m also pleased to say that many of them are principled and we should optimize these strengths and help them reach their true potential.

Q: We have good laws in our statutes but despite that legal literacy among the masses remains poor. What is the role the BASL can play here in enhancing legal literacy especially among the marginalized groups such as those with disabilities etc.?

A: I have taken stock of this situation in my programme of action as well, and we are trying to lobby for basic law to be incorporated into the school syllabus. We need to revive the good practices such as the National Law Week which was initiated during the tenure of Nihal Jayamanne PC. Legal luminaries such as Judge C.G. Weeramantry had long advocated legal literacy among people and we need to look at how the BASL can sustain the efforts to expand its reach, perhaps through institutions such as the Legal Aid Commission.

Q: In terms of our legal education, the choice of subjects still remains very conventional despite the digital age that we live in. Diversification in legal education is also a want of the hour. As a lecturer of law, what measures do you propose to bridge these gaps?

A: Law should essentially be multidisciplinary and study of law too should be more integrated; it cannot be confined to so-called ‘legal subjects’ alone. Law students must have a knowledge of other disciplines as well. We know that accountants study business law and aspects of commercial law. This kind of an interdisciplinary approach should be replicated in our legal education as well. In certain universities in the UK, for instance in the University of Warwick, there is a subject called ‘Shakespeare and the Law’ where they study certain plays of Shakespeare related to law. In the Department of Law at Peradeniya, Sociology is now being taught which is a progressive move. Sometimes ago there was a proposal to introduce a module on Law and Literature at the Colombo Law Faculty.

We need to have collaborative discussions with our universities and Sri Lanka Law College as to how the syllabuses can be made more productive. Very often even law graduates end up in the legal profession. So while making Law College more practical, suited to modern ways of learning, at the same times there should be measures in place to make academic training at Law Faculties analytical. So when these law graduates join the Bar, their academic training can be productively translated into the practical setting. In this context, the BASL can make representation on how to enhance the quality of legal education in the country.

Q: Although we have seen a notable shift in female representation within the judiciary, it is not so in the Private Bar. How can women lawyers be empowered to be more visible in the Private Bar and play a more proactive role?

A: We have many female instructing attorneys and outside Colombo there are many female lawyers who appear in courts on equal terms with men. But when it comes to Colombo, especially the chambers, there is a disparity which we have recognized. We have suggested that the Bar should have a committee of females lawyers through which their concerns and grievances can be brought to the table and deliberated to remedy them.

One of the key bottlenecks which discourages female lawyers of the Private Bar is the working schedule. There needs to be more flexibility in working hours and ambitious as it may be, a day care center in Hulftsdorp for their young children is desirable. There is also a strong need to have more leadership positions in the BASL- more women involved in the workings of the BASL at different levels. Female representation in executive committees of the Junior Bar is equally important. It is imperative that female lawyers should be empowered to reach their true potential.

Q) Coming from a journalistic family – your father Harold Pieris being once editor of the Observer and you too having had a stint with the now defunct Sun – what are your thoughts about the present media culture?

A: Lack of balance to see that the other side of the story too is something which I believe is lacking in today’s media culture. There seems to be ‘self-censorship’ among many journalists. In print media there is civil defamation available for the aggrieved party but when it comes to social media content, there is nothing that a victim can do. Some of the hate content is not only partisan but also paid for by certain people, which makes it very unpleasant. This however is the case the world over. While freedom of expression needs to be upheld it is imperative not to exploit the tool.

Q: As the first chairman of the Office of the Missing Persons and also as one time member of the Human Rights Commission, what are your observations about Sri Lanka’s reconciliation process and what needs to be done to achieve real reconciliation?

A: My personal take on this issue is that it is really important to narrow the gap between the communities. The perception of reconciliation is varied in different parts of the country. So unless you really convince people and a majority of people are part of the process, reconciliation is not going to be a reality. If we really want to reconcile we need to bring a majority on board in the process because without that, if a majority sees reconciliation as a bad word, or as something which is very alien, then we are not going to succeed.

Any process of reconciliation should be domestically driven and the institutions which are there for the promotion of reconciliation should also be domestically driven. For that purpose, domestic mechanisms established should be dynamic and allowed to be independent. If people are suspicious about a process, it will not be successful.

Q) We are braving hard times. As the newly appointed BASL Chief, what would be your mandate to contribute to the national effort of fighting the pandemic and making a difference?

A: I think where the Bar is concerned, the contribution will be through the justice system. During the lockdown some of the apex courts were not functional because we were not geared, but today we have seen the Supreme Court making rules relating to that and the Justice Ministry has also been making efforts on digitization. So the Bar should proactively cooperate with the government and courts in making this exercise of fighting the effects of the pandemic a success.

Those in the justice sector including the lawyers and judges should also be on the list of those being vaccinated as they interact with the members of the public. If their safety is not ensured, it directly affects the justice system because we saw the closure of certain courts in the past few weeks and a number of lawyers had to be quarantined. Then there are effects of the pandemic which need to be taken stock of, the loss of income, the number of cases diminishing, the delays of the justice system- all these should be addressed by the Bar as a stakeholder. The Bar will be one stakeholder in this process and we need to fully cooperate with the Ministry of Justice and the judiciary to tackle these issues.