BASL Parliament meeting plans trigger a dispute over whether all 225 MPs can attend discussions on Supreme Court and Court of Appeal vacancies.
A BASL Parliament meeting over vacancies in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal has sparked a heated dispute over parliamentary procedure.
A delegation from the Bar Association of Sri Lanka is scheduled to visit Parliament to brief Members of Parliament on the judicial vacancies.
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has asked Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne to facilitate the participation of all 225 MPs, regardless of party affiliation, at the meeting.
However, Leader of the House Bimal Ratnayake has objected to that proposal. He said Parliament cannot arrange meetings involving external organisations and the entire legislature outside established parliamentary procedures.
Premadasa said he had asked the Speaker on July 31 to inform all MPs about the BASL Parliament meeting.
He stressed that his request did not amount to summoning Parliament or exercising authority over MPs.
Ratnayake, however, argued that neither the Opposition Leader nor an external organisation has the authority to summon all 225 parliamentarians.
He said such a meeting requires approval from the Committee on Parliamentary Business and the Leader of the House.
Ratnayake also said the Bar Association issued a notice on August 4 questioning the Opposition Leader’s authority to allocate time for the meeting without prior discussion.
MP Mano Ganeshan, who intervened during the debate, said Premadasa had merely asked the Speaker to notify MPs about the meeting.
The dispute therefore centres not on whether MPs can meet representatives of the Bar Association.
Instead, the disagreement concerns the proper parliamentary procedure through which an external professional organisation can formally meet the entire membership of Parliament.
The controversy over the BASL Parliament meeting has consequently become a broader debate over parliamentary authority, procedure and how outside professional bodies should engage all 225 legislators.
