-By LeN Legal Correspondent
(Lanka-e-News -16.Nov.2025, 11.30 PM) The latest intervention by the Legal Officers’ Association of the Attorney General’s Department, opposing the creation of an independent Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), has raised more questions than it has answered. At a time when Sri Lankans are demanding faster justice, reduced court backlogs and an end to political interference in prosecutions, the union’s resistance appears deeply out of step with public sentiment.
According to the Association, the AG’s Department—with “a century of experience” and “a highly skilled cadre”—is fully capable of handling criminal litigation. Yet the very same institution stands at the centre of long-running criticism: chronic delays, incomplete prosecutions, lack of transparency and repeated failures to bring politically sensitive cases to trial.
It is precisely these shortcomings that the NPP government claims it hopes to address through an independent DPP—an idea widely supported by civil society, business leaders and a growing portion of the electorate.
The public frustration is not without cause. Legal officers in the AG’s Department enjoy taxpayer-funded salaries, official vehicles, fuel allowances and an array of professional privileges. Many of them later transition into private practice, earning substantially higher incomes on the strength of their state-funded training.
Against this backdrop, critics argue that it is entirely reasonable for citizens to ask:
• If the Department is functioning so efficiently, why are thousands of criminal cases stuck in limbo?
• Why should the public accept a union veto over badly needed structural reform?
• What has the union done to reduce backlogs, curb internal inefficiencies, or prevent political appointments within the AG’s Department?
The Association has so far offered no public explanation on any of these issues.
The union’s statement stresses the AG Department’s long history. That history, however, includes:
• politically stalled corruption cases,
• repeated failures to indict credible suspects,
• prosecutorial decisions shrouded in secrecy,
• and recurring criticism from the judiciary itself.
Many legal observers argue that an independent DPP would introduce professional separation, accountability and clarity in prosecutorial decision-making—features standard in many modern democracies.
Yet the union has opted for a blanket rejection.
The Association points to a similar initiative attempted in the 1970s which did not succeed. But in a country where every major institution—from banking to medicine to policing—has undergone reform in the last half-century, the suggestion that a failed idea from 50 years ago must never be revisited feels remarkably outdated.
Reformers argue that Sri Lanka’s judicial system is not collapsing because it has “too many” institutions. It is collapsing because no institution is permitted to operate independently of political pressure.
According to Association Secretary Mihiri de Alwis, the union unanimously resolved on 14 November to oppose the DPP proposal. What they did not offer was a single alternative plan to address:
• overwhelming case delays,
• the rising cost of prolonged litigation,
• the erosion of public trust in the criminal justice system,
• or allegations of selective prosecution.
The union has made its stance clear.
What remains unclear is why it believes the status quo—one that has failed both victims and the accused for decades—should remain untouched.
The NPP government’s proposal may not solve every problem, but it represents a serious attempt to confront structural weaknesses long ignored by previous administrations.
What the taxpayers expect now is not obstructionism, but leadership.
If the AG Department’s legal officers sincerely believe in public service, they should welcome reform, offer constructive alternatives—or step aside for those who are prepared to modernise a justice system that is no longer fit for purpose.
-By LeN Legal Correspondent
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by (2025-11-16 18:37:34)
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