By The President and the Constitutional Council are locked in a serious controversy over filling vacancies in the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal.
The President recommended Justice Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne to the Supreme Court and Justice Sobitha Rajakaruna as the President of the Court of Appeal. However, the Constitutional Council has not yet decided on the recommendation.
Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena wrote a letter to Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya seeking his views on the judges nominated. The letter asks for information on the performance of the judges, the number of judgments overruled by the Superior Court, and the conduct of the judges.
President Wickremesinghe is reportedly livid that the Speaker did not address the letter to him or the Presidential Secretariat. He also believes that it is wrong to determine the promotion of a judge based on the number of judgments he or she has delivered or those overruled by a superior court.
The Constitutional Council declined to comment on the
