Sri Lanka Prepares Constitutional Amendment to Raise Judicial Retirement Age

The government of Sri Lanka is preparing to gazette the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, which would increase the mandatory retirement age for judges. Under the proposal, Supreme Court judges' retirement age would rise to 67, Court of Appeal judges to 65, and lower court judges would receive a two-year extension. The administration argues the move is necessary to expedite the resolution of more than 1.1 million pending cases.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake has received formal letters of opposition from the Mahanayaka Theras of the Malwathu, Asgiriya, Ramanna, and Amarapura Buddhist chapters. Rajeev Amarasuriya, President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, announced this opposition on August 3, stating that the government lacks the moral right to proceed with the amendment.

Critics allege the proposal is a covert attempt to extend the tenure of Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena. Despite these objections and the Bar Association's claim that the move is unethical, the Attorney General has cleared the draft legislation. The governing National People's Power party currently holds the two-thirds parliamentary majority required to pass the constitutional change.