Two more petitions challenging the constitutionality of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution Bill were filed before the Supreme Court on Friday, bringing the total number of petitions against the Bill to 13, Ada Derana reported.
Ada Derana attributed the two filings to the Lawyers’ Organisation of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and to the “Dinana Dakuna” collective. Both petitioners have asked the Court to rule that the Bill can only be passed if it is approved at a referendum.
The SLPP petition
Daily Mirror reported that SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam, an Attorney-at-Law, filed a Special Determination petition on Friday against the Bill, seeking a declaration that it requires both a two-thirds majority in Parliament and approval by the people at a referendum.
Kariyawasam argued that the Bill would alter the terms of office of serving superior-court judges in a way that could affect judicial independence, bringing it within a principle the Supreme Court has previously recognised as requiring a referendum.
The Bill would raise the retirement age of Supreme Court judges to 67 and of Court of Appeal judges to 65. It was published as a Gazette Supplement dated August 7.
The Speaker’s separate tally
Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne told Parliament earlier on Friday that copies of two further petitions had reached his office, taking his running count to nine. Three arrived on August 19 and four more on August 20.
Petitions reach the Speaker under Article 121(1), which allows a Bill’s constitutionality to be challenged before Parliament passes it. A separate petition against the companion Judicature (Amendment) Bill is counted apart from these.
Counts that still do not reconcile
The Speaker’s nine and Ada Derana’s 13 measure different things: copies received by his office, which arrive after a lag, against filings at the Supreme Court registry.
Neither matches the 37 filings Hiru News reported at the registry on Wednesday evening. No outlet has reconciled that figure with the counts published since, and it should be treated with caution until one does.
The Bill
Tabled on August 18 by Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara, the Bill would also alter the composition of the Court of Appeal. The Bar Association of Sri Lanka is among the petitioners and has asked for a full bench, and the government has said it will follow whatever procedure the Supreme Court determines, including a referendum if the Court finds one necessary.
