Sajith welcomes UN Special Rapporteur’s concerns over judges’ retirement age

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has warned that government plans to extend the retirement age of senior judges pose a direct threat to the independence of the judiciary.

He said proposed constitutional changes applying to sitting judges could undermine public trust in the courts, echoing concerns raised by the United Nations and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka.

Under the proposals, the retirement age for Supreme Court judges would rise from 65 to 67, while Court of Appeal judges would see their tenure extended from 63 to 65. The changes would apply to both current sitting judges and future appointees.

In a statement posted on social media platform X, Premadasa questioned why the extension must apply to incumbent members of the bench.

"A government does not spend its political capital on a two-year adjustment unless it knows exactly whose two years it is buying," he said. "If a government can decide how long a judge stays, that judge is no longer fully free to rule against the government."

The Opposition leader's comments follow a intervention by Margaret Satterthwaite, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers.

In a letter dated 7 August, Satterthwaite warned that altering judicial terms without clear safeguards could give the impression the law was tailored to benefit specific judges.

She added that while retaining judicial expertise was a valid goal, any reform to tenure required transparent debate to prevent potential conflicts of interest, particularly if sitting judges were required to rule on the constitutionality of the changes.

Premadasa also noted that the proposed amendment fails to address Sri Lanka's backlog of 1.1 million pending court cases.

He called on the government to explain the plan publicly in Sinhala, Tamil, and English, and insisted the government hold a national referendum before proceeding, citing a 2022 Supreme Court ruling.