Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe says he has proposed setting up a parliamentary select committee to address the backlog of some 1.1 million pending court cases, telling reporters he asked Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa to place a formal proposal before the government.
The proposal emerged from a meeting of opposition party leaders at the Office of the Opposition Leader, convened following a written request from Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MP Namal Rajapaksa. The leaders sought a collective response to the government’s plan to extend the retirement age of Supreme Court judges — a measure the administration says is intended to help clear the case backlog, but which the opposition has linked to wider concerns over judicial independence.
The gathering brought together figures from across the political divide, including Wickremesinghe, Premadasa, Sarva Jana Balaya leader Dilith Jayaweera, Namal Rajapaksa and former Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, according to Daily Mirror and NewsFirst. Senior United National Party representatives and other political figures were also reported to have taken part.
Wickremesinghe argued that the opposition should present a united front in Parliament and pursue the appointment of a select committee to tackle the backlog directly, rather than relying solely on changes to judges’ tenure.
The Bar Association of Sri Lanka and judicial officers’ associations have objected to the retirement-age amendment, warning that alterations to judges’ terms of office must not be used to influence the composition or independence of the courts. The opposition has framed the issue as a test of the separation of powers.
