2ND LEAD

Haphazard judiciary appointments irk Jaffna legal personnel

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 10 June 2008, 14:03 GMT]
Contradictory actions by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) including abrupt transfers and appointments of Magistrates for the various courts within Jaffna peninsula followed by cancellations without reasons have caused confusion within legal circles, a spokesman for the Jaffna lawyers association said Monday.

The spokesman further pointed out the various appointments and cancellations that have created chaos within the legal circles in the peninsula.

R.T.Vignarajah, the Jaffna Magistrate, was recently appointed as Jaffna High Court Judge after being sworn in front of the Chief Justice (CJ) and had also had his first sittings in the courts.

Meanwhile, on Friday, JSC officials had informed the Registrar of Jaffna High Court by fax informing that K. Ariyanayagam, Point Pedro Magistrate, based on his seniority has been appointed as the new Magistrate for Jaffna. However, Mr. Ariyanaygam was informed by telephone Monday morning that his new appointment has been canceled and he should continue to remain in his present position until further notice.

At the same time, Jaffna Additional Magistrate Vasanthasenan was appointed as Jaffna Magistrate, effective from Monday.

Mrs. Joy Mahadeva, presently serving as Kayts Magistrate has been appointed as Jaffna Additional Magistrate for three days a week to fill the vacancy created by Mr. Vignarajah’s promotion in addition to serving at Kayts courts for two days.

Also earlier, another magistrate Alexa attached to Point Pedro courts was transferred three times within a week and such ridiculous actions have made the legal system a matter to be laughed at by the public, spokesmen for the Jaffna lawyers Association said.