Sri Lanka adopts controversial amendment raising judges’ retirement age
The Hindu – International
You are logged in
Loading…
You don’t have any Active Subscription.
Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one.
Your active subscription(s)
Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials,
Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription
Products you’ve access to
Additional Subscription Benefits
Account Settings
Need help with your subscription?
Weather News September 25, 2026 e-Paper
The View From India
Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective.
First Day First Show
News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming.
Today's Cache
Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day.
Science For All
The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in!
Data Point
Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers
THEdge
At the cutting edge of education and careers
Health Matters
Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there
Gender Agenda
Stories from beyond the binary.
The Hindu On Books
Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features.
Weather News September 25, 2026 e-Paper
Published – September 25, 2026 10:53 pm IST – Colombo
Sri Lanka's Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) party supporters protest near the parliament in Colombo on September 24, 2026 against a constitutional amendment proposed by the government to extend the retirement age of judges.
| Photo Credit: AFP
Sri Lanka on Friday (September 25, 2026) adopted the controversial 22nd Amendment to the Constitution which raises the retirement age of judges, despite protests by the opposition.
The amendment raises the retirement age of Supreme Court judges from 65 to 67 years and that of Court of Appeal judges from 63 to 65. It was approved with a two-thirds majority, with 158 members voting for it and 63 against, at the end of the two-day debate.
Speaking on behalf of the government, senior Minister Bimal Ratnayake said the amendment was purely meant to reform the judiciary to ensure swift delivery of justice. “This is not an amendment to extend the life of parliament or to extend the terms of presidents as happened before,” he said.
“We do not want this to keep a stronghold of government as falsely accused by the opposition,” Mr. Ratnayake stressed.
Sri Lanka has a judicial backlog of an estimated 1.1 million cases.
The main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa said the amendment was clearly meant to undermine the independence of the judiciary. “This would put democracy seriously under threat,” he said. Members of the main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya attended parliament in black attire to protest the move.
The amendment was adopted despite months-long protests from opposition parties and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, which argued it would undermine judicial independence.
The Opposition also challenged the government to hold a referendum to enact the amendment.
According to several opposition figures, the main argument in several petitions filed in the Supreme Court challenging the amendment was that the 22A infringes Article 3 of the Constitution, which relates to the sovereignty of the people, and therefore requires approval through a nationwide referendum in addition to a two-thirds majority in Parliament.
Published – September 25, 2026 10:53 pm IST
World
/
Sri Lanka
/
parliament
/
judiciary (system of justice)
Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
BACK TO TOP
Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.
Fonte: The Hindu – International
