PRESS RELEASE Free Lawyers Sri Lanka Colombo

Free Lawyers Sri Lanka strongly opposes the government’s hasty move, reported in yesterday’s government-owned Sunday Observer, to place before Cabinet a proposal for a constitutional amendment that would extend the retirement age of superior court judges. This proposal, if enacted, would effectively prolong the tenure of the sitting Chief Justice, who is due to retire in approximately four months. Advanced without any meaningful consultation, such a step risks undermining public confidence in the independence and impartiality of the judiciary.

As observed by Saliya Peiris, PC, former President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, this ill-considered measure threatens to taint the legacy of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, placing him among past leaders who attempted to tamper with judicial independence—only to see those actions rebound against them. Constitutional provisions governing judicial tenure form part of the foundational safeguards of the independence of the judiciary. Amending them in secrecy, without stakeholder input, invites legitimate questions about motives and sets a dangerous precedent that future governments could exploit to lengthen or shorten judicial tenures according to political preference.

While Free Lawyers Sri Lanka fully recognises the urgent need to address chronic delays in the administration of justice and other structural weaknesses in the legal system, these challenges cannot and must not be resolved through rushed constitutional changes timed around the imminent retirement of a single office-holder.

Merely extending retirement ages will not remedy law’s delays. We therefore call upon the government to immediately suspend any move to table or advance this constitutional amendment and instead commence a transparent, inclusive stakeholder consultation process involving the Bar, the judiciary, civil society, and the public.

Only through such a process can durable solutions be identified and implemented in a manner that strengthens, rather than compromises, judicial independence and the rule of law. Free Lawyers Sri Lanka stands ready to participate constructively in any genuine consultative effort aimed at meaningful reform.

Issued by: Free Lawyers Sri Lanka

Maithri Gunarathna PC

Rajith Keerthi Tennkaoon

Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon

CEO/ Free Lawyers 

Former Governor of Uva, Southern and Central Provinces

Former Executive Director of Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) and Center for Human Rights and Research – CHR Sri Lanka