The Dinana Dakuna Collective has raised serious concerns over the due process behind a proposal to extend the retirement age of judges, alleging that the relevant Cabinet paper may have been bypassed by external interests without the knowledge of the subject ministry.
The civil society group highlighted the issue in a press release following recent comments made to a national newspaper by Ayesha Jinasena PC, Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and National Integration. The Secretary stated that she had neither received a concept paper nor prepared a Cabinet paper regarding an extension of the judicial retirement age.
According to the collective, the Justice Ministry Secretary’s admission creates reasonable suspicion that the proposal submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers was drafted and tabled independently of the line ministry responsible for legal and judicial affairs.
The group questioned the transparency and legitimacy of introducing major policy alterations in such a manner, warning that circumventing established ministerial procedures undermines institutional governance.
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