Sri Lanka's Supreme Court has rejected a request from multiple petitioners to expand the hearing of constitutional amendment challenge cases to a full bench, deciding instead to continue proceedings with its current five-member panel.
The Supreme Court dismissed a bid by petitioners to have cases challenging the proposed 22nd Amendment heard before the entire complement of sitting judges. The request, initiated by President's Counsel M.A. Sumanthiran during a hearing before a five-judge bench led by Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena, was supported by seven other senior counsel representing multiple petitioners, including Saliya Pieris, Ali Sabry, Geoffrey Alagaratnam, Eraj de Silva, Srinath Perera, Anura Meddegoda, and Maithri Gunaratne.
The Chief Justice upheld the decision to proceed with the existing bench composition, which comprises Justices Achala Wengappuli, Arjuna Obeyesekere, Sampath Abeykoon, and Gihan Kulatunga alongside herself. The Solicitor General, representing the Attorney General, argued that constitutional authority for determining bench composition rests exclusively with the Chief Justice under Article 132(3) of the Constitution. An intervening petitioner's counsel, President's Counsel Nigel Hatch, similarly acknowledged this judicial prerogative.
The amendment cases involve 67 petitions filed to challenge the 22nd Amendment Bill, with an additional five petitions contesting the accompanying Judicature Bill. The hearing now proceeds before the five-member bench as originally constituted, following the Court's rejection of the petitioners' consolidation request.