An Inability To Prosecute: The Meaning Of An Attorney General’s Role

By Basil Fernando –JUNE 2, 2021

Basil Fernando

One Attorney General went into retiremand another was appointed. The reflections in this short article is not about the persons involved but the position that has been held and passed over. And also it is not about the specific position of the Attorney General but about the department that the holder of this office represents.  Outgoing AG Mr. Dappula De Livera was reported as saying that on his retirement he was offered a diplomatic post but, he refused. Furthermore, if a suitable position to serve the country is offered, he would accept. Otherwise, he would set up in private practice.

Taking that statement on face value, it indicates that the former Attorney General is willing to enter into service of his country. The few suggestions that are made in this article are perhaps one of the most valuable services he could render. Giving to his country, to the department in which he has served for a long time (and was its head) to the legal system as a whole and thereby to the entire country.

It is well known that the time he had to serve within this department was not an enjoyable time at all. Nobody can choose the circumstances under which one has to live and function. In the circumstances under which he served in the Attorney General’s office was not a pleasant time. It is not the fault of any officer but it is a sort of pre-determined situation.

Therefore, when we say about the time that it was not a nice time, it means that it was not a nice time for the nation as a whole and all the public institutions including the Attorney General’s Department.

Dappula

An issue that may be bothering many people now, and may bother many thinking people in the country in times to come, (particularly those associated with legal and judicial positions),  would be: the questions as to what was the evolution of the Attorney General’s role over those years?

In the development of culture, in terms of larger historical events as well as institutional histories, the memoirs of the people who once served in these positions play a great deal. They explain and illuminate the nature of the developments taking place within a specific time frame. Numerous persons who served as Senior Judges or Attorney Generals or held high positions have left an enormous amount of literature in the more developed cultures. These writings have become a major reference for future generations. Particularly, the scholars in these fields and the field of Law and other related branches such as politics, social sciences and philosophy, draw a great deal of information and guidance in finding answers to the questions that bother them. This comes about through readings of various memoirs left by persons who had taken an honest and introspective look into their own experiences. These experiences of public servants are not completely private affairs. They are part of the storehouse of knowledge about what happened, how different forms of thinking around policies developed, where things went right and where things went wrong. Unfortunately, such literature is quite rare in Sri Lanka. Many of the biographies written about politicians are pure  propaganda.They aim to promote a particular individual or a particular party or a particular perspective. No politician has left a critical analysis of the different things they had participated in for the next generation to sort out, struggle and deal with.

In the field of Law, the same thing is valid with a few, rare exceptions. Former Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake has left a memoir entitled “Hold me in contempt”– giving certain details and insights into the time she held office. Due to prevailing circumstances, some of these reflections and memories may be ignored. However, it is very likely, that a serious scholar looking into the tragedy of the Legal System of Sri Lanka, will find valuable sources of information and insights in her memoir.

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