Colombo, Aug 18 (PTI): Sri Lanka’s government on Tuesday presented a constitutional amendment bill to extend the retirement age of judges, despite strong opposition from various political parties and the country’s bar association.
Minister of Justice and National Integration Harshana Nanayakkara presented the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution Bill, that seeks to extend the retirement age of Supreme Court judges from 65 to 67 and the Court of Appeal judges from 63 to 65.
The minister also presented the Judicature (Amendment) Bill, which includes amendments to extend the retirement age of judges in other courts.
The government argued that extending judges’ terms was a necessity to clear the current backlog of over 1.1 million cases.
Earlier, the cabinet approved the bills, paving the way for them to be presented to parliament. The bills were presented despite opposition from the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, members of the Judicial Service Association and the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association.
The opposition parties and the Buddhist clergy leaders also protested against the bills. The opposition calls the bills a “direct assault on the independence of the country’s judiciary.”
It said the move will empower the executive president with the capacity to manipulate the judiciary’s functioning.
The opposition has two weeks from Tuesday to file objections in the Supreme Court against the amendment.
As per the process, the court’s determination on the petitions must be delivered to the Speaker of Parliament within 21 days.
The Supreme Court’s determination must be followed if the proposed amendment is to proceed.
According to sources, the amendment would be debated in parliament by late September and would be formally adopted with a two-thirds majority in the 225-member assembly.
The NPP government has a two-thirds parliamentary majority.
Wednesday, August 19, 2026