He made these observations participating at the annual conference of the Judicial Service Association of Sri Lanka held at the Galle Face Hotel in Colombo, yesterday (18).

The President further said that he has taken his maximum efforts to restrict the powers of the Executive Presidency , which has the excessive powers than in any other country in the world. He also said that several decisions were taken during the past 11 months , giving due recognition to the good governance.

The President recalled the way how protests were carried out in front of judges’ houses and even how judges’ houses were stoned for the neglect of executive orders to them and how the then Chief Justice was impeached after a short period of 48 hours inquiry for not obeying the Executive. President Sirisena said that the assault incident on the Secretary of the Judicial Services Commission was added a black mark to the Judicial service.

The new government has taken steps to build good governance in all the sectors of the country while balancing power between the legislature, executive, and the judiciary, the President added.

President Sirisena pledged to create an environment where the judges will be able to deliver their judgments freely. He also said that steps will be taken in the future to provide foreign trainings to enhance their knowledge while understanding issues related to the Judicial Service.

Here, the President pointed out the importance of finding solutions to the issue of delay in delivering a judgment when the public seeks justice. He further said that the immediate attention of the persons engaged in the field of law should be drawn in this regard.

Minister of Justice- Wijedasa Rajapakse, Chief Justice- K. Sripavan, members of the Judicial Service Association of Sri Lanka, including the President of the Association, Intellectuals and others were present on the occasion.