Following the successful legal challenge brought by the JVP (Janatha Vimkuthi Peramuna), the Supreme Court orders that implementation of certain clauses of the Post Tsunami Operational Management Structure (PTOMS) agreement should be suspended until a final court determination, stopping short of declaring the agreement illegal.
In an interim injunction, the court stayed “till final determination” critical operative elements of the Regional Committee that was formed as one of the three tiers under the PTOMS agreement. The three-member Bench of the Supreme Court unanimously stayed the project approval and fund management functions of the committee – the most critical element of the joint mechanism at the regional level.
The court did not object to the other two tiers – the national and the district committee – and made it clear that the interim order “is not granted in respect of the entirety” of the MoU establishing the PTOMS.
Sources
Provisions of joint mechanism stayed, The Hindu, 16 July 2005.
Quotations
“We have succeeded in our struggle. There is nothing in the agreement now.” Vijitha Herath, international secretary of the JVP and former Cabinet Minister.
“The structure as provided in the MoU consisting of committees may be established and become functional subject to the restrictions imposed by the judgement.” Supreme Court ruling.
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Sisira Siribaddana said,
This is a historic achievement for Sri Lankans, if not today our country would be divided and there would be unending war for borders and various other issues.
prashan said,
I think there continues to be a war without end in Sri lanka. This comment on the PTOMS typifies the difficulty in engaging in a conversation about what happens if ever this conflict takes a different form. I disagree that the defeat of the PTOMS is a historical “achievement” and it is obvious that the unending war that would have apparently resulted is still taking place! The question remains…after this war, what comes next? And how do we ever get there?