Sri Lanka’s government on Tuesday presented a constitutional amendment bill in Parliament to raise the retirement age of judges, despite strong opposition from political parties, lawyers’ bodies and Buddhist clergy leaders. The government said the move was needed to help clear a backlog of more than 1.1 million cases.
Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara presented the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution Bill, which seeks to extend the retirement age of Supreme Court judges from 65 to 67 and Court of Appeal judges from 63 to 65. He also presented the Judicature (Amendment) Bill, which proposes similar changes for judges in other courts.
The Cabinet had earlier approved the bills, allowing them to be placed before Parliament. The bills were introduced despite protests from the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, members of the Judicial Service Association and the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association. Opposition parties and Buddhist clergy leaders also objected to the move.
The opposition has described the bills as a “direct assault on the independence of the country’s judiciary”. It said the move would give the executive president the power to influence the functioning of the judiciary. Under the process, the opposition has two weeks from Tuesday to file objections before the Supreme Court. The court must send its determination on the petitions to the Speaker of Parliament within 21 days, and that determination must be followed if the amendment is to go ahead.
According to sources, the amendment is likely to be debated in Parliament by late September and could be adopted with a two-thirds majority in the 225-member House. The NPP government has a two-thirds majority, even as the proposed changes to judges’ retirement ages continue to face resistance from opposition groups and legal bodies.
With PTI Inputs
– Ends
Source link
[ad_3]
