Former Bar Association of Sri Lanka President Saliya Peiris has expressed strong opposition to the proposed 22nd Constitutional Amendment, contending it threatens judicial independence and requires public referendum approval beyond parliamentary vote.
Former Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) President Saliya Peiris has declared that the proposed 22nd Amendment to the Constitution should not proceed, citing concerns about its potential impact on judicial independence and democratic governance. Speaking on a television programme, Peiris argued that constitutional changes affecting the judiciary warrant heightened scrutiny beyond standard parliamentary procedures.
Peiris contends that amendments affecting judicial independence directly impact the sovereignty of the people and therefore require both a two-thirds parliamentary majority and public referendum approval. He emphasized that the constitutional threshold alone is insufficient for changes of this magnitude, framing the issue as one that transcends mere legal technicalities.
The former BASL president directly challenged a key justification for the amendment—claims that extending judicial retirement ages would accelerate case processing. He characterized these arguments as "completely false," noting that most cases involving ordinary citizens proceed through lower courts including Magistrate's and High Courts rather than the higher judiciary. Extending retirement ages for senior judges would therefore have minimal impact on case backlogs in lower court systems, Peiris argued.
Peiris also pushed back against suggestions that lawyer opposition represents only a narrow faction within the Bar Association. He stated that if the majority of lawyers opposed the amendment, they could voice this position through the association's general meetings, and that individual lawyers' public statements do not necessarily reflect positions taken within formal association proceedings.
