Govt. to review MCC Agreement, AG tells Supreme Court

The government has decided to review the Millennium Challenge Corporation agreement, which was to be signed between the former government and the United States, Attorney General Dappula de Livera has informed the Supreme Court today (13).

Speaking on behalf of the Attorney General, Deputy Solicitor General Farzana Jameel further informed the judge bench of the government’s decision not take any steps to reach the agreement until the review is completed.

The Fundamental Rights (FR) petitions filed against the signing of the MCC Agreement, seeking an order declaring that the decision taken by the previous government to ink this deal is in violation of the Constitution, were called before the five-judge bench of the Supreme Court this morning.

The judge bench consists of Justices L.T.B. Dehideniya, Buwaneka Aluwihare, S. Thurairajah, Murdu Fernando and Gamini Amarasekara.

The petitions were scheduled to be taken up again on the 25th of March 2020 and the judge bench ordered the Deputy Solicitor General to brief the court on the progress of the review at the next hearing.

The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA), Attorney-at-Law Dharshana Weeraduwa and Ven. Anguruwelle Jinananda Thero had filed fundamental rights petitions against the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Agreement with the US.

The Attorney General, President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Foreign Affairs Minister Tilak Marapana, and Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera have been named the respondents of the petitions.

The petitioners claim that the MCC agreement, which is to be signed without the consent of the parliament and the public, could seriously harm the national security and sovereignty of the country.

Therefore, the petitioners have requested the Supreme Court to issue a ruling that the government’s decision to enter into this agreement violates the Constitution and to issue an interim injunction preventing the signing of the agreement.