Aftershocks of 22A
Tuesday 29th September, 2026 The government is busy concocting various theories in a bid to justify the manner in which the 22nd constitutional amendment (22A) was enacted. Its leaders claim that even in India, the retirement ages of judges have been increased recently, but there have been no protests. Their reference is to an order […]
On 29th September, 2026, the Sri Lankan government is attempting to rationalize the enactment of the 22nd constitutional amendment (22A). While they argue that retirement ages for judges have been raised recently and faced no protests, this is not applicable to 22A. The Indian Supreme Court order directs seven states to raise the retirement age of district judicial officers from 60 to 62, separate from increasing the constitutionally fixed retirement age of Supreme Court and Court of Appeal judges.
The JVP-NPP politicians are comparing 22A to a 2021 amendment in Zimbabwe, which also raised judicial retirement ages but did not pass through a normal legislative process. Current government leaders urge the opposition to accept 22A, but critics argue that it is still detrimental to democracy and judicial independence.
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.
