Govt. determined to press ahead with 22A: Justice Minister
By Shamindra Ferdinando Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara said yesterday that the government would proceed with both the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, and the Judicature (Amendment) Bill, because the government could not achieve its goal by increasing the retirement ages of a section of the judges. The Attorney-at-Law declared that the government […]
Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara has declared that the government remains committed to pursuing both the 22nd Constitutional Amendment and the Judicature (Amendment) Bill, despite potential challenges. This stance comes after inquiries into the government's plans, which have raised concerns about legal obstacles in the face of the controversial 22nd Amendment's ongoing legal challenges.
The Minister underscored the significance of enacting both bills, citing the need to raise retirement ages for various judges to improve the judicial system's efficiency. The 22nd Amendment aims to increase the retirement ages of Supreme Court judges from 65 to 67 and Court of Appeal judges from 63 to 65. Meanwhile, the Judicature (Amendment) Bill seeks to raise the retirement ages of High Court judges from 61 to 63 and those of District Court judges and Magistrates from 62.
Nanayakkara highlighted that simultaneously passing both bills would contribute substantially to addressing the backlog of 1.1 million pending cases. Both the Joint Opposition and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) have stated that no petitions have been filed against the Judicature (Amendment) Bill.
Written by urgent.news from The Island Sri Lanka's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
