BASL president accused of lacking transparency in JAICA fund controversy

Colombo, August 30 (Daily Mirror)-  The five-member-Special Committee appointed by the Bar Council of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) over the controversial BASL-JICA issue has found that BASL President Kaushalya Navaratne PC has failed to act with transparency in relation to the contract entered into by the BASL with JICA and thus has violated the trust reposed in him as the President of the BASL.             
                           
The five-member-committee comprising Faisz Musthapha PC (Chairman), Dr. K. Kanag Iswaran PC, Ikram Mohamed PC, Rienzie Arseculeratne PC and Geoffrey Alagaratnam PC held that the material placed before the Committee disclosed a contractual process and selection of Resource Persons and Researches for payment lacked transparency and had been handled almost entirely by Kaushalya Nawaratne.

On May 18, 2024, the BASL Bar Council appointed a five-member-committee to look into allegations pertaining to the BASL project funded by the JICA relating to promotion of a transparent and competitive business climate (Anti-Corruption) in Sri Lanka, as a Committee of Inquiry.

The committee found that given the circumstances relating to the contract, the obligations it imposes on the BASL and the relatively large sums of money being paid to resource persons selected by BASL President Nawaratne himself, Nawaratne holding a position of trust for the membership was legitimately required to ensure transparency, if not during the process leading up to the contract, at least immediately thereafter.

The Committee also found that President’s Counsel Nalinda Indatissa has failed to exercise any meaningful oversight expected of the Deputy President of the BASL. 

The report further revealed that President’s Counsel Shavindra Fernando and the other researchers Rashmini Indatissa and Nuwan De Alwis cannot be identified with any lapses on their part.