22nd Amendment could put Supreme Court judges in difficult position: Rajiv Amarasinghe
14-Aug-2026.
The proposed 22nd Amendment to the Constitution would also benefit Supreme Court judges, while challenging the Bill in court could place the judges themselves in a difficult position, President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka Rajiv Amarasinghe said.
He called on the Government either to withdraw the proposal or for the President to use his executive powers to refer the Bill for a referendum.
“We urged the President that, in the national interest, it would be better to withdraw the 22nd Amendment,” Amarasinghe said.
He made these remarks while speaking to the media following a meeting with representatives of the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama on August 13, to discuss the proposed 22nd Amendment.
He said the BASL had expressed its complete opposition to introducing the amendment without transparent and comprehensive consultations.
“The President says that the amendment is being introduced in the national interest,” he said.
He added that, apart from the Government including the President, there had been negative views at both national and international levels regarding the proposal to extend the tenure of judges.
“Therefore, having understood the seriousness of the matter, the President should withdraw this decision in the national interest,” he said.
Amarasinghe said the President had engaged in discussions with the BASL only after all the relevant work had been completed and the Bill had been published in the Gazette.
“We intend to approach the courts against the 22nd Amendment. We hope to find a solution through the judicial process,” he said.
He reiterated that the proposed amendment would also benefit Supreme Court judges and that challenging the Bill in court could place the judges in a difficult position.
“Therefore, the Government should either withdraw this decision or, instead of taking the Bill before the courts, the President should use his executive powers to decide that it be subjected to a referendum,” he said.
