{
  "id": 3412053,
  "title": "GL alleges Justice Minister committed contempt of court by ruling out referendum",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/gl-alleges-justice-minister-committed-contempt-of-court-by-ruling-out",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-26T00:02:30.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Island Sri Lanka",
    "slug": "the-island-sri-lanka",
    "url": "http://island.lk/gl-alleges-justice-minister-committed-contempt-of-court-by-ruling-out-referendum/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Joint Opposition raised concerns about Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara's recent declaration ruling out a referendum on the fate of the 22 Amendment. Former External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris criticized Nanayakkara's statement, asserting that the Supreme Court was still processing petitions against the amendment. The petition submission period began on the day the amendment bill was presented to parliament, which occurred on August 18. Peiris questioned how Nanayakkara could definitively state there wouldn't be a referendum before the two-week petition deadline.\n\nPeiris emphasized that the Supreme Court's decision would be communicated to the Speaker within three weeks, advising the Justice Minister not to view the Supreme Court as a mere instrument of the government. He stressed that the ruling NPP government should not interfere in the Supreme Court's process. Referring to the increasing number of petitions against the 22 Amendment, Peiris noted that all petitioners concurred that the matter should be decided via a referendum.\n\nProf. Peiris accused the Justice Minister of contempt of court for dismissing the referendum option. He urged all sitting Supreme Court judges to review the petitions. Peiris also highlighted the government's strategy of dividing the available Supreme Court judges to handle three amendments simultaneously: the 22 Amendment extending superior court judges' retirement ages, the Judicature (Amendment) Bill for High Court, District Court, and Magistrate court judges' retirement ages, and amendments to the Anti-Corruption Act. The Supreme Court had 17 judges, but four vacancies persisted for several months, according to Peiris. He commended the clergy from all religious backgrounds for expressing their opposition to the 22 Amendment.",
  "summary": "By Shamindra Ferdinando The Joint Opposition yesterday questioned Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara’s recent declaration that a referendum wouldn’t be held to decide the fate of the 22 Amendment. Former External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris took exception to Nanayakkara’s statement. Addressing the media at former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Flower Road…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}