The Aporia · Sri Lanka adopts controversial amendment raising judges' retirement age

Sri Lanka adopts controversial amendment raising judges' retirement age

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Sri Lanka adopts controversial amendment raising judges' retirement age. (2026, September 25). The Hindu. https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/sri-lanka-adopts-controversial-amendment-raising-judges-retirement-age/article71510186.ece

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Quick Summary

Sri Lanka adopted the 22nd Amendment to its Constitution on Friday, September 25, 2026, raising the retirement age for Supreme Court judges from 65 to 67 and for Court of Appeal judges from 63 to 65. The amendment passed with a two-thirds majority in parliament (158 votes for, 63 against) despite opposition protests and legal challenges arguing it undermines judicial independence. Senior Minister Bimal Ratnayake defended the move as necessary for judicial reform, while opposition leader Sajith Premadasa claimed it threatens democracy.

Written by AI on 2026-09-25, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On September 25, 2026, Sri Lanka adopted the controversial 22nd Amendment to its Constitution, which raises the retirement age for judges. Supreme Court judges' retirement age was raised from 65 to 67, and that of Court of Appeal judges from 63 to 65. The amendment passed with a two-thirds majority in parliament, where 158 members voted in favor and 63 against.

Senior Minister Bimal Ratnayake argued the amendment aims to reform the judiciary for faster justice delivery. However, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa claimed it undermines judicial independence and poses a threat to democracy. Sri Lanka faces a significant backlog of over 1.1 million pending cases in its courts. Members of the main opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya wore black attire during their protest against the amendment in parliament.

Written for “Sri Lanka Judicial Reform” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

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Uncertain

1 of 13 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

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withheld

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60/100

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The Hindu · 907 article(s) · 2 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 2 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

No reporter is named on this article, beyond the feed's “PTI”.

Topics

22nd Amendment Court of Appeal Samagi Jana Balawegaya Sri Lanka Supreme Court

Subjects

Sri Lanka GPE · 2× Bimal Ratnayake PERSON · 1× Court of Appeal ORG · 1× Parliament ORG · 1× Ratnayake PERSON · 1× Sajith Premadasa PERSON · 1× Samagi Jana Balawegaya ORG · 1× Supreme Court ORG · 1× the Bar Association of Sri Lanka ORG · 1× the Supreme Court ORG · 1×

Narrative

Sri Lanka on Friday (September 25, 2026) adopted the controversial 22nd Amendment to the Constitution which raises the retirement age of judges, despite protests by the opposition.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-25

🔮 “This would put democracy seriously under threat,” he said.

2026-09-25 · The Hindu

Sri Lanka adopts controversial amendment raising judges' retirement age · assertive framing

Claims (13 extracted, 1 hedged)

Sri Lanka on Friday (September 25, 2026) adopted the controversial 22nd Amendment to the Constitution which raises the retirement age of judges, despite protests by the opposition. asserted

which → adopt → opposition

The amendment raises the retirement age of Supreme Court judges from 65 to 67 years and that of Court of Appeal judges from 63 to 65. asserted

amendment → raise → 65

It was approved with a two-thirds majority, with 158 members voting for it and 63 against, at the end of the two-day debate. asserted

members → approve → debate

Speaking on behalf of the government, senior Minister Bimal Ratnayake said the amendment was purely meant to reform the judiciary to ensure swift delivery of justice. asserted

amendment → speak → justice

“This is not an amendment to extend the life of parliament or to extend the terms of presidents as happened before,” he said. asserted

he → extend → presidents

“We do not want this to keep a stronghold of government as falsely accused by the opposition,” Mr. Ratnayake stressed. asserted

Ratnayake → want → opposition

Sri Lanka has a judicial backlog of an estimated 1.1 million cases. asserted

Lanka → have → cases

The main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa said the amendment was clearly meant to undermine the independence of the judiciary. asserted

amendment → say → judiciary

“This would put democracy seriously under threat,” he said. asserted

he → put → threat

Members of the main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya attended parliament in black attire to protest the move. asserted

Members → attend → move

The amendment was adopted despite months-long protests from opposition parties and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, which argued it would undermine judicial independence. asserted

it → adopt → independence

The Opposition also challenged the government to hold a referendum to enact the amendment. asserted

Opposition → challenge → amendment

According to several opposition figures, the main argument in several petitions filed in the Supreme Court challenging the amendment was that the 22A infringes Article 3 of the Constitution, which relates to the sovereignty of the people, and therefore requires approval through a nationwide referendum in addition to a two-thirds majority in Parliament. uncertain

which → accord → Parliament