Lanka may set up special corruption court

Sri Lanka may set up a special court to try corruption cases, the country's first woman Minister of Justice Thalatha Atukorale said today.
Atukorale, 54, who took over as the Minister of Justice replacing Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe who was sacked from his cabinet post last week, said it was a matter for the Chief Justice to decide.
"We may consider the proposal," Atukorale said.
Atukorale is the first woman to be appointed as the Minister of Justice since Sri Lanka's independence.
Rajapakshe was sacked following his breach of collective cabinet responsibility over the port deal with China in the southern Hambantota region.

He was also accused of going slow on the investigations against the member of the regime of the former Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Since the two-year period from 2015 when Rajapaksa lost the presidential election to the incumbent Maithripala Sirisena no one had been convicted.
This was despite dozens of them including the immediate family members of Rajapaksa being hauled before courts and other investigating arms on alleged wrong doings.
Sirisena's campaign in 2015 was based on pledges to try the corrupt among those who were holding high government positions.
To set up a special court was an election pledge.

However, Rajapakshe the former minister justice minister, objected to the proposal claiming it was unconstitutional.
The Rajapaksa clan dubs all corruption investigations as political vendetta.