Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa took his case against the proposed 22nd Amendment to the United Nations on Sunday, telling UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka Marc-André Franche that the amendment could threaten the independence of the judiciary.

“Our position is clearly beyond party politics and personal interests. It is based on what is best for democracy. We view the 22nd Amendment as a threat to judicial independence,” Premadasa said at the meeting, according to Ada Derana.

He said safeguarding the rule of law was essential to an independent judiciary. “We are taking a very democratic position. Democracy must be protected by every possible means,” he added.

The referendum question

Premadasa pressed a second line of attack the same day at a Samagi Wanitha Balawegaya meeting called to set up the Raththota constituency committee, Hiru News reported.

There he asked President Anura Kumara Dissanayake why a public referendum is not considered necessary for the 22nd Amendment, when the parties now in government demanded one for the 20th Amendment while they were in opposition.

He again argued the amendment would severely damage judicial independence and undermine the rule of law — which he said has already been weakened by the frequency of shooting incidents across the country.

The President’s answer, hours later

Speaking at the Bulathsinhala rally that opened the NPP’s two-year anniversary tour in the Kalutara District, Dissanayake said the government would move quickly once the courts have ruled.

The government will table and pass the amendment in Parliament as soon as the Supreme Court determination is received, and will take the necessary steps without delay, Hiru News reported. He did not address the referendum question.

Where the amendment stands

The 22nd Amendment, which alters the retirement age of judges and related judicial appointments, drew more than 30 petitions to the Supreme Court before the challenge deadline closed. It has been opposed by the Bar Association, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference and a UN special rapporteur, and the government has rejected the criticism.

Premadasa has made the amendment a recurring theme, raising it at Galle, Ruwanwella and, on Saturday, at a farmers’ meeting in Lunugamvehera.

Not reported

Neither outlet reported any response from Franche or the UN to Premadasa’s approach, or said what else the meeting covered. No outlet said when the Supreme Court determination is expected, and the government has not answered the comparison Premadasa drew with its own position on the 20th Amendment.

Sources