The Government has not yet taken a final decision on the proposal to increase the retirement age of judges, Cabinet Spokesman Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said today.
Responding to questions at the weekly post-Cabinet media briefing, Jayatissa said the Cabinet had discussed the matter and considered several factors, including the large backlog of court cases, delays in the administration of justice, shortages of judicial officers, the migration of professionals, and increasing life expectancy.
He said the Justice Ministry has been instructed to submit further reports before the Cabinet reaches a final decision.
“The Government has not yet announced its final position. The Cabinet has only held a preliminary discussion and requested more information from the Justice Ministry,” he said.
Jayatissa added that differing views have been expressed by various stakeholders on the proposal, and those views would also be taken into consideration before a final decision is made.
He also noted that despite efforts to recruit more judicial officers, vacancies remain due to a lack of qualified applicants, with only 33 candidates recruited out of a planned intake of 50 magistrates. (Newswire)