The United States has announced it is supporting the Bar Association of Sri Lanka’s program entitled “Civil Society Initiatives to Support the Rule of Law”, signing a Memorandum of Understanding at the US Embassy in Colombo on Thursday.
The sponsorship, through US Agency for International Development, will see support for the three-year program, which will “foster further linkages between the Sri Lanka Bar and U.S. state bar association” according to an embassy press release.
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US Ambassador Michele Sison stated at the signing ceremony,
“I am so pleased to support important stakeholders in the Sri Lankan legal system, such as the Bar Association of Sri Lanka”.
“We are proud to continue our longstanding partnership with civil society in ways that strengthen democratic institutions, support the rule of law, and promote an independent judicial system. In this regard we can help further Sri Lanka’s efficacy of the legal system and the administration of justice.”
Last year, following the impeachment of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, we wrote on Sri Lanka’s legal system and the long-standing absence of meaningful judicial process and rule of law available to Tamils in the North-East.
See more in our editorial: Ruling the Law (09 January 2013)