Give ideas and suggestions for reforms in legal education. - Minister Dr Wijedasa Rajapaksha says
"In order to change the current political system, the electoral system must be changed. Especially according to the current election system, one has to spend a lot of money to become an Member of Parliament. A presidential election and a general election are scheduled to be held in the future. After those elections, there must be a change in the electoral system. Political party leaders should discuss it. Through the new electoral system, a Member of Parliament who is responsible for the constituency should be appointed.
It is important to change the electoral system as it is not unfair to the minor political parties. With the intervention of the Ministry of Justice, over a hundred laws were amended in the past. The Minister pointed out that their benefits will come in the future"
The minister explained the importance of establishing the rule of law, protecting the independence of the judiciary, the 21st constitutional amendment, the election expenses regulation act, and the importance of appointing a Senate in the new constitutional reforms.
In his speech, the Minister also emphasized the importance of working as a skilled professional lawyer and being updated about the current political and social conditions as a law student.
A Law College raised a question about the fees currently charged for Law College admission and the minister answered:
We discussed the Law College admission fees. In particular, the Sri Lanka Law College is still operating according to the Act introduced in 1900. Initially, this college was established for only one hundred students. Now about seven thousand students are registered for educational activities. Money is allocated by the government for the maintenance of public universities in this country. But the government does not allocate money for the activities of the law school. Its activities are carried out only by the money collected for the law school examinations.
The Law College should be a professional training institution. The Law College education system needs to change. A special parliamentary selection committee has been appointed to reform legal education. Ideas and proposals should be submitted to the selection committee these days. Law students can give ideas and suggestions for that. The minister also mentioned that an optimal change should be made in the legal education as well as the education system.
Dr. Atula Patinayake, Principal of the Sri Lanka Law College, Mr. Navoda Ratnesekera, President of the Law College Students' Union and a group of Law College students joined the occasion.