Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association urges Sri Lanka to withdraw proposed judicial retirement age amendment

Colombo, July 5 (Daily Mirror) - President of the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association (CLA), Steven Thiru, has urged the Sri Lankan Government to withdraw its proposed constitutional amendment seeking to extend the retirement age of judges of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, warning that the move could seriously undermine judicial independence and public confidence in the justice system.

Addressing a public forum organized by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) on Saturday (04), Steven Thiru said the CLA stood in solidarity with the Sri Lankan legal profession in safeguarding the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. He commended the BASL for taking a principled stand on the issue, describing the Association as a longstanding defender of judicial independence.

Steven Thiru clarified that the CLA does not oppose increasing the retirement age of judges in principle, noting that several jurisdictions have raised judicial retirement ages in response to increasing life expectancy and the need to retain experienced judges. However, he stressed that such reforms must be implemented through transparent, prospective, and broadly consultative constitutional processes rather than being introduced in a manner that could benefit sitting judges.

Citing reforms in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong, Thiru said successful changes to judicial retirement ages had been preceded by extensive public consultation and were designed as institutional reforms rather than measures benefiting particular individuals. He contrasted those examples with Zimbabwe, where a constitutional amendment extending judges’ retirement ages during the incumbent Chief Justice’s tenure triggered legal challenges and damaged public confidence in the judiciary.

He argued that the principal concern in Sri Lanka was not the proposed retirement age itself but the timing and context of the amendment. According to CLA President, altering the tenure of sitting judges during a politically sensitive period risks creating the perception that the Executive is attempting to influence the composition of the superior courts. Such perceptions, he warned, would erode public trust, which he described as the judiciary’s greatest source of legitimacy.

He further cautioned that extending the tenure of serving judges could adversely affect the morale and career progression of junior judges while reducing constitutional safeguards to instruments of political convenience. He emphasized that constitutional amendments affecting the judiciary should only follow extensive public debate, stakeholder consultation and adherence to democratic due process.

Referring to the Commonwealth (Latimer House) Principles and the CLA’s Goa Declaration of 2023, Thiru said international standards require judicial appointments to be protected by fixed tenure and that judges should never appear to serve at the pleasure of the Executive.

The CLA President also highlighted what he described as growing threats to judicial independence across several jurisdictions, including Kiribati, the Maldives, Ghana, the United States and the International Criminal Court, warning that executive interference with judicial tenure has become an increasingly global concern.

Calling on the Sri Lankan Government to preserve public confidence in the judiciary, Thiru urged it to withdraw the proposed amendment to Article 107 of the Constitution, undertake any future judicial reforms only after transparent consultation with stakeholders, and refrain from unilateral legislative measures that could undermine the independence, impartiality and neutrality of the superior courts.

Rajeev Amarasuriya, President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), members of the BASL Executive Committee, TL Yap, President of LAWASIA, Upul Jayasuriya, PC, Past President of BASL and Council Member of the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association (CLA), and members of the Bar of Sri Lanka graced the occasion.

Yap Teong Liang, President of the Law Association for Asia and the Pacific (LAWASIA); Prof. Savitri Goonesekere, Emeritus Professor of Law at the University of Colombo; Rohan Edrisinha, former Senior Political Officer and Constitutional Adviser at the United Nations Department of Political Affairs; Dr. Deepika Udagama, former Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka and former Head of the Department of Law at the University of Peradeniya; M.A. Sumanthiran, PC, former Member of Parliament; Srinath Perera, PC; Anura Meddegoda, PC, former President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka; and Geoffrey Alagaratnam, PC, former President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, elaborated on the position of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) during the event.