The Church of Ceylon, the Anglican Church in Sri Lanka, has opposed the government’s move to extend the retirement age of appellate court judges and called on the President and Cabinet to withdraw the proposed constitutional amendment.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Church expressed concern and disappointment over the Cabinet’s decision to proceed, warning that it could undermine the rule of law and public confidence in the independence and impartiality of the judiciary. It said it had hoped the government would take account of concerns already raised by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, the wider legal community and civil society.
The Church directly challenged the government’s stated rationale. The extension has been presented as a way to clear a backlog of cases, but the statement pointed out that several appellate court vacancies remain unfilled without what it called any rational or principled explanation.
“Therefore, we can only conclude that the real motivation for this amendment lacks bona fides,” the Church said.
It also set the amendment against a reform agenda it says has been left untouched. The Church said it had for years pressed for reforms abolishing the executive presidency, strengthening independent institutions, establishing a Bill of Rights and addressing minority grievances, but that no action had been taken to begin that process.
“Deciding instead to pursue constitutional reform on an issue that was not raised in constitutional reform debates in recent years or during the last national election campaigns lacks moral legitimacy and constitutional propriety,” the statement said.
The Church said the leadership of all three organs of government — executive, legislature and judiciary — should examine the reasons behind what it called a “sudden, ad hoc and ad hominem” amendment, and criticised political leaders who champion independent institutions in opposition but adopt policies serving executive convenience once in office.
Context
Cabinet approved the two-year extension on July 27, raising the retirement age of Supreme Court judges from 65 to 67 and of Court of Appeal judges from 63 to 65. Because those limits are written into the Constitution, the change requires an amendment carried by a two-thirds majority in Parliament.
Opposition has built steadily across the legal establishment. The Bar Association of Sri Lanka unanimously adopted seven resolutions against the amendment on July 29, and the Justice Minister has undertaken to place its objections before the President.
The Church’s intervention widens the dispute beyond the legal profession.
