Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne told Parliament on Friday that he has received copies of two further petitions filed in the Supreme Court against the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution Bill, Ada Derana reported.
Speaking in the House, the Speaker said the two petitions came in addition to the seven whose copies reached his office over the previous two days.
How the count builds
Copies of three petitions against the Bill were received on August 19, followed by four more on August 20. With Friday’s two, copies of nine petitions challenging the 22nd Amendment have now reached the Speaker.
The petitions are transmitted under Article 121(1) of the Constitution, the provision allowing a Bill’s constitutionality to be challenged before Parliament passes it. A separate petition against the companion Judicature (Amendment) Bill, announced on August 19, is counted apart from the nine.
Still a floor, not a total
The Speaker’s figure counts only copies formally transmitted to his office. It is not the number of petitions lodged at the Supreme Court registry, and the two measures have diverged sharply this week: Hiru News reported 37 filings at the registry on Wednesday evening.
No outlet has reconciled the two counts, and the Speaker’s tally should be read as a minimum rather than a total.
The Bill
The 22nd Amendment was tabled on August 18 by Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara. It would change provisions governing the judiciary, including the retirement ages of Supreme Court and Court of Appeal judges, and would alter the composition of the Court of Appeal.
The Bar Association of Sri Lanka is among the petitioners and has asked for a full bench. The government has said it will follow whatever procedure the Supreme Court determines, including a referendum should the Court find one necessary.
