Magistrate Pasan Amarasena has resigned as President of the Judicial Service Association (JSA), the body representing Sri Lanka’s magistrates and district judges, in protest against what he described as an unlawful general meeting.
The resignation followed a controversy over a special general assembly the association’s Executive Committee decided to convene at the Kaduwela Magistrate’s Court to gather members’ views on the currently debated proposal to extend the retirement age of judges. According to Ada Derana, a letter said to have been issued by Amarasena informing members of his resignation and setting out his reasons has been circulating on social media.
A separate letter attributed to the association’s Secretary, Judge Suranga Munasinghe, refuting the president’s allegations, is also in circulation. In it, the Secretary reportedly told members the meeting would proceed as scheduled. The special general assembly convened at around 10:00 a.m. at the Kaduwela Magistrate’s Court.
The dispute lands amid an escalating, cross-party fight over a government-proposed constitutional amendment to raise the retirement age of higher-court judges — a move the Judges’ Association has opposed as a threat to judicial independence. The controversy has drawn in the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, opposition parties and an international warning from the Commonwealth Lawyers Association.
LankaNewz reported in June that the Bar Association had raised concerns over the amendment, and that the Justice Minister said no Cabinet decision had yet been taken on the plan. The resignation of the JSA’s own president marks the sharpest sign yet of division within the judicial service over how the reform is being handled.
