Sri Lanka's Supreme Court has finished hearing 15 petitions challenging the Government's proposed Anti-Corruption Amendment Bill and announced it will send its confidential constitutional determination to Parliament's Speaker and the President.
A three-judge Supreme Court bench led by Justices Shiran Gunaratne, Mahinda Samayawardhena, and Sampath Wijeratne concluded oral hearings on Friday into 15 petitions filed against the Anti-Corruption (Amendment) Bill. The court directed parties to submit any written submissions by 12:00 noon on Monday before announcing that its confidential ruling on the Bill's constitutionality would be forwarded to the Speaker of Parliament and the President in due course.
The petitions were lodged by multiple parties including former Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris, the Media Law Forum, and Transparency International Sri Lanka. The petitioners contended that the proposed amendments would curtail judicial power and infringe upon fundamental rights, and requested the Court determine that the Bill requires approval by a two-thirds parliamentary majority and ratification through referendum.
During Friday's hearing, Additional Solicitor General Nerin Pulle argued on behalf of the Attorney General that the Anti-Corruption Amendment Bill would not undermine or diminish the judiciary's powers. Pulle characterised the matter as concerning national security broadly defined to include economic security, stating the Government intended to present relevant judicial precedents to the Court.