Emergency meeting of all lawyers in Colombo tomorrow after 14 years

2026-02-14 - 08:30

President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, Attorney-at-Law Rajeev Amarasuriya, states that an emergency meeting of all members of the Bar Association will be held in Colombo tomorrow (15), after a lapse of 14 years. He made this statement today (14) while addressing a special media briefing to clarify the Association’s position regarding the Akuregoda shooting incident. He further noted that the emergency meeting has been convened for 3.00 p.m. tomorrow. “Today, the Executive Committee of the Bar Association met to discuss the Akuregoda shooting incident. This is an incident that affects the entire legal community. This is not a matter that should be decided solely by our Executive Committee. Therefore, we are convening an emergency general meeting of all members of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka tomorrow at 3.00 p.m. The next steps of the Bar Association will be determined at that meeting. We are calling such a meeting for the first time since 2012. The last occasion on which a meeting of this nature was convened was in relation to the impeachment issue concerning former Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake. After 14 years, we are once again convening such a meeting. No matter how grave a crime may be, our legal tradition first recognises the presumption of innocence enshrined in the law. We know that there are accused persons in cases, and in many instances they are acquitted. That is how the system functions. Therefore, when any lawyer, irrespective of who the client may be, represents a client and becomes the victim of such an incident, it amounts to an attack on the entire system. The rule of law is now under threat. Today it may be a lawyer; tomorrow it could be a judge; the following day it could be a police officer. We have already seen what has happened to prison officers. Hence, this is not a matter that can be treated lightly. The legal system safeguards the rule of law in our country. We strongly condemn such a threat to the legal system, and this brazen act carried out in broad daylight. As I stated earlier, we will convene a general meeting of the entire membership tomorrow at 3.00 p.m., discuss this matter, and take appropriate decisions. Using CCTV footage and available technology, the necessary police officers and teams must be deployed to arrest those responsible. This is not merely an issue affecting a member of the legal profession; it is a broader issue affecting the entire country. As I said before, it could be a judge, a police officer, a prison officer, and even a doctor, an engineer, or a businessperson—we have seen various professionals facing such threats. Whenever a dispute arises, shootings occur. The Government has a responsibility to ensure the protection of citizens and the public. We are now in 2026, not in the 1970s or 1980s. We will extend our fullest cooperation to the Government as required. The rule of law and public security must be firmly safeguarded,” he said.