The Sri Lankan government has officially published the Twenty Second Amendment to the Constitution, proposing significant changes to judicial retirement ages and the composition of the Court of Appeal.
The government has formally gazetted the proposed Twenty Second Amendment to the Constitution, introducing modifications to the retirement framework for superior court judges and expanding the appellate bench. According to the Gazette Extraordinary published on Friday, the amendment sets the retirement age for Supreme Court judges at 67 years, while Court of Appeal judges would retire at 65 years of age.
Under the proposed changes, the Chief Justice would be required to step down upon reaching 67 years of age or after serving six years in office, whichever comes first. This dual provision introduces a tenure-based retirement mechanism alongside the age-based requirement for the nation's highest judicial officer.
The amendment additionally proposes increasing the maximum number of Court of Appeal judges from 19 to 24, potentially expanding the court's capacity to handle appellate caseloads. The Justice Minister and National Integration has ordered the publication of the Bill, formally initiating the legislative process for constitutional amendments.
