COLOMBO : Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne on Friday evening ,Sept. (25) endorsed the certificate on the Twenty SecAmendment to the Constitution Bill.
The Second Reading debate on the Twenty Second Amendment to the Constitution Bill was held in
Parliament yesterday (24) and today, following which the Bill was passed with a special majority in
Parliament.
The Bill provides for increasing the retirement age of Supreme Court Judges from 65 to 67 years,
and the retirement age of Court of Appeal Judges from 63 to 65 years.
It also proposes to amend Article 137 of the Constitution to increase the number of judges of the
Court of Appeal from 19 to 24. Accordingly, the establishment and operation of regional Courts of
Appeal is expected to facilitate the expeditious disposal of pending cases and reduce the need for
parties to cases to travel to Colombo.
Accordingly, the Constitutional Amendment Bill will come into force as the Twenty-Second
Amendment to the Constitution.
Meanwhile, Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne also endorsed his certificate today on the
Judicature (Amendment) Bill.
The Second Reading debate on the Bill was held in Parliament yesterday (24) and today, following
which the Bill was passed by a majority of votes in Parliament today.
The amendment increases the retirement age of High Court Judges from 61 to 63 years, and the
retirement age of District Judges and Magistrates from 60 to 62 years.
