The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Justice and National Integration has been informed that there are a total of 1,131,818 pending cases in Sri Lankan courts.
According to a Parliament statement, the Committee was informed that the number of pending cases in the Supreme Court stands at 5,785, cases in the Court of Appeal at 4,572, and cases in the High Court’s hearing criminal cases at 6,286.
Cases in the Commercial High Court stand at 6,146, cases in the Special Three-Judge High Court at 3, cases in the High Court at 27,324, cases in the District Courts at 262,665, and cases in the Juvenile Magistrate’s Court at 1,260.
Officials present at a meeting with the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Justice and National Integration said that due to the high number of pending cases within the judicial system, there were significant delays in the process of delivering justice.
Officials representing the Sri Lanka Judges’ Institute stated that a program to streamline the judicial process is currently in operation, and in this regard, a training program for judges is also being implemented.
This discussion took place during the first meeting of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Justice and National Integration of the Tenth Parliament, Chaired by Minister of Justice Harshana Nanayakkara at the Parliament yesterday (27 Feb).
Members of Parliament participating in the meeting pointed out that there are significant delays in the functioning of the Attorney General’s Department.
Officials present at the meeting highlighted that only 70 Senior State Counsels approximately are assigned to the Criminal Division of the Attorney General’s Department to handle criminal cases received from police divisions across the entire country. Furthermore, they emphasized that a Senior State Counsel is required to have several years of experience and expertise in handling assigned cases, with seniority being a key determining factor.
Minister of Justice Harshana Nanayakkara emphasized that discussions on the workload and delays of the Attorney General’s Department have been ongoing for some time. He further stated that the number of legal officials available in the Department is insufficient in comparison to the volume of pending cases.
Furthermore, he mentioned that approximately 6 Additional Solicitors General with nearly 30 years of experience are expected to leave the Department within this year. The Minister emphasized that the government is determined to take all necessary measures to ensure the uninterrupted functioning of the Attorney General’s Department.
This meeting was attended by the Deputy Minister of National Integration, Muneer Mulaffer, Members of the Committee, Members of Parliament and officials representing the Ministry of Justice and National Integration. (Newswire)
