Supreme Court Clears Parliamentary Pensions Repeal Bill for Simple Majority Vote

The Supreme Court has determined that the Parliamentary Pensions (Repeal) Bill does not conflict with any provisions of the Constitution and may be enacted by Parliament with a simple majority, Speaker of Parliament Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne announced.

Delivering the Court’s determination to Parliament, the Speaker said the Bill was examined under Article 121(1) of the Constitution and found to be fully in line with constitutional requirements. The ruling was finalized on January 22, following the conclusion of hearings on petitions challenging the proposed legislation.

The petitions were filed by a group of former Members of Parliament who argued that several clauses of the Bill were unconstitutional and infringed upon fundamental rights. They sought a ruling that the Bill would require a special parliamentary majority and approval through a public referendum if it were to be passed.

However, the Supreme Court rejected these claims, paving the way for the Bill to proceed under the standard legislative process. The proposed law, which aims to abolish pension benefits for Members of Parliament, was presented to the House on January 7 by Minister of Justice and National Integration Dr. Harshana Nanayakkara. A 14-day window was provided from that date for the submission of legal challenges.

The Second Reading debate on the Bill is expected to take place toward the end of this month. Once enacted, the legislation will terminate pension entitlements currently held by 512 former Members of Parliament.