Pivithuru Hela Urumaya leader Udaya Gammanpila has questioned the government’s argument that the proposed 22nd Amendment is aimed at retaining experienced judges, pointing to the composition of the five-member Supreme Court bench appointed to hear challenges against the Bill.
The Supreme Court began considering petitions challenging the proposed 22nd Amendment on Tuesday before a five-member bench headed by Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena. The other members are Justices Achala Wengappuli, Arjuna Obeyesekere, Sampath Abayakoon and Gihan Kulatunga.
Speaking to the media following the proceedings, Gammanpila claimed the composition of the bench itself raised questions over the government’s public argument that extending judges’ retirement age was necessary to retain greater judicial experience.
He said several of the most senior Supreme Court judges had not been included in the five-member bench, while one of the most junior judges had been appointed.
“The government has continuously argued that the 22nd Amendment is necessary because judges with greater experience should be retained for another two years,” Gammanpila said.
However, he claimed the selection of the bench demonstrated that seniority and additional years of experience were not necessarily decisive when constituting a bench for an important constitutional determination.
Gammanpila described the development as a “knock” to the government’s argument, although the Chief Justice has made no such public characterization. (Newswire)