The JVP-NPP government has received Cabinet approval for a constitutional amendment to extend judges' retirement ages, but faces significant legal obstacles and mounting international pressure to reconsider the proposal.
The Sri Lankan government has advanced a draft constitutional amendment aimed at raising the retirement ages of judges, which received Cabinet approval on August 4th. However, legal experts and opposition figures have raised concerns about the constitutionality of the measure without a public referendum.
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa cited a 2022 Supreme Court judgement establishing that changes to judicial retirement ages require referendum approval. According to that precedent, retirement ages for Supreme Court and Court of Appeal judges are specifically prescribed in the Constitution and differ from ordinary civil service provisions. The court determined that any amendment affecting these ages would impact judicial independence and require compliance with Article 3's referendum requirement.
The proposed amendment has drawn criticism from multiple international organisations. The International Association of Judges, representing 93 national judicial associations, expressed concern about the "timing and manner" of the proposal and the "widely perceived reason" behind it. The organisation stated that constitutional amendments affecting the judiciary should follow "a reasoned, principled, consultative and transparent process" rather than "an arbitrary and ad hoc announcement." The Commonwealth Lawyers Association and the Judicial Service Association of Sri Lanka have similarly raised objections.
Domestic religious and civil society figures have also voiced opposition. The Mahanayake Theras and the Church of Ceylon have written to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, warning that the amendment threatens judicial independence, lacks moral legitimacy, and undermines the rule of law. According to The Island, the government's attempt to frame opponents as corrupt-politician sympathisers has "come a cropper" given the stature of international organisations involved.
