Opposition MPs turned the tabling of the 22nd Amendment into a protest on Tuesday, holding up posters on the floor of Parliament and shouting slogans as the Bill was presented.
Daily Mirror, whose correspondents Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana reported from the chamber, said a tense situation erupted as MPs raised posters carrying a Daily Mirror cartoon depicting President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. The MPs shouted slogans against the proposed amendment as it was presented alongside the companion Bill on judges’ retirement ages.
Hiru News reported the same scene, saying Opposition members registered their objection immediately after the two Bills were placed before the House. It described the posters as reflecting political criticism of the government over political influence on the independence of the judiciary and what it called the erosion of democratic principles.
Neither newsroom reported that the Speaker suspended the sitting or named individual MPs involved.
The Bills behind the protest
The two Bills would raise the retirement ages of judges. The 22nd Amendment would lift the retirement age of Supreme Court judges from 65 to 67 and Court of Appeal judges from 63 to 65; the companion Bill covers judges of the High Courts, District Courts and Magistrates’ Courts.
Both were presented to Parliament on Tuesday by Minister of Justice and National Integration Harshana Nanayakkara, and both had been gazetted on August 7.
The Samagi Jana Balawegaya-led Opposition decided at a group meeting on Monday to object when the Bills were taken up. The proposal has also drawn objections from the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and the Chief Prelates.
