The Women’s Wing of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party has petitioned the Supreme Court over the proposed 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, asking the court to determine whether the Bill can become law without being put to a referendum.
The petition was filed on behalf of the SLFP and its Women’s Wing by Attorney-at-Law Anuradha Lakmini Gurugé, who is secretary of the wing, Ada Derana reported on Tuesday.
The case
The petitioners argue that certain provisions of the amendment would bear directly on judges already sitting in office, and that this could compromise judicial independence, the separation of powers and the system of checks and balances.
A constitutional amendment, they contend, should strengthen democracy and protect the independence of the judiciary. This one, the petition says, was brought forward hastily, without adequate public discussion or sufficient transparency.
The filing rests on sovereignty. The petitioners claim the changes would adversely affect the sovereignty of the people guaranteed by Article 3 of the Constitution, and the inalienable sovereignty vested in the people under Article 4(c). On that basis they ask the court to hold that the amendment needs the direct approval of voters at a referendum, in addition to the parliamentary majority the government already expects to command.
A crowded docket
The petition joins a substantial body of litigation against the Bill, which would raise the retirement age of Supreme Court judges from 65 to 67 and that of Court of Appeal judges from 63 to 65. Ada Derana put the number of challenges at at least 21 earlier on Tuesday.
Among those already before the court are filings by the Bar Association’s president and secretary, the Illankai Tamil Arasu Katchi and a group of social media activists — all seeking a referendum. Former Bar Association president Saliya Peiris said on Tuesday the Bill should not be enacted at all.
Running the other way, NPP MP Lakshman Nipuna Arachchi filed the first petition supporting the amendment on Tuesday, arguing it touches neither popular sovereignty nor judicial independence and therefore needs no referendum — the precise proposition the SLFP filing disputes.
Ada Derana did not report when the court will take up the petitions. No other verified Sri Lankan newsroom had filed its own report of the SLFP Women’s Wing petition as of Tuesday night.
