Attorney-at-Law Aruna Laksiri Unawatuna B.Sc(Col), PGDC(Col) (Coordinator)
Dr. Thilaka Padma Subasinghe Memorial Legal Education Programme

1. While Article 83.ආ. of the Constitution of Sri Lanka provides that a referendum is required to amend Articles 30.2 and 62.2 [Article 83.b. of the English version of the Constitution] Paragraph 83.b. of the English version of the Constitution states that a referendum is required only for amendments that extend the term of Articles 30.2 and 62.2 to more than 6 years (which would extend) Amendments that would reduce that period are not stated that a referendum is required] The amendment of Articles 30.2 and 62.2 without holding a referendum and the enactment of laws according to the English version of the Constitution was done through the 19th Amendment to the Constitution in 2015, and since the Speaker’s certificate has been used, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution has become a law.


2. That is, without amending Article 83.ආ. of the Constitution, that is, without going to a referendum, Articles 30.2 and 62.2 of the Constitution have been amended and made a law. (Since the Speaker has certified/signed the amendment of Articles 30.2 and 62.2 of the Constitution, it has become law)

3. Now the problem is that Article 83.ආ. of the Constitution has not been amended/corrected in accordance with the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. That is, Article 83.ආ of the Constitution has not been amended/corrected to date in accordance with Article 83.b of the English version of the Constitution. (Article 83.ආ. of the Constitution has not been aligned/corrected/amended with Article 83.b of the English version of the Constitution)

4. That is, Article 83.ආ. of the Constitution The words “amendment or” in the paragraph of the Constitution 30.2 and 62.2 have not been amended in such a way that the Constitution 30.2 and 62.2 “amendment to increase the term by more than 6 years” has not been amended.

5. Accordingly, the amendment of Article 83.ආ of the Constitution should be done first, and without doing so, bringing an amendment to the Constitution to increase the term of judges is contrary to Article 3 of the Constitution, but under the sovereign power of the people to enact laws, the President can make it a law by cerifying/signing it after the people approve it through a referendum and by a 2/3 vote of the Parliament, including the absent members.
https://neethiyalk.blogspot.com/2026/08/since-article-83b-of-constitution-has.html?m=1

Attorney-at-Law Aruna Laksiri Unawatuna B.Sc(Col), PGDC(Col) (Coordinator)
Dr. Thilaka Padma Subasinghe Memorial Legal Education Programme

Translation of the article මේ දක්වා ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ 83.ආ. ඡේදය සංශෝධනය නොකිරීම හේතුවෙන් විනිසුරු කාලය වැඩිකිරීමේ සංශෝධනයට ජනමතවිචාරණයක් අවශ්‍ය වෙයි.