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19th Amendment on the way
View(s):CJ’s term to be slashed to three years, Parliament Standing Orders to become law
By Our Political Editor
A 19th Amendment to the Constitution is to restrict the term of office of a Chief Justice to just three years and make clear provision that Standing Orders of Parliament are part of the country’s laws.
The move has been provoked by issues that arose during the impeachment of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake.
Article 107(5) of the Constitution now stipulates that “the age of retirement of Judges of the Supreme Court shall be sixty-five years and of Judges of the Court of Appeal shall be sixty-three years.”
Ms. Bandaranayake who was appointed Chief Justice in May 2011 could have continued in office till 2023 if she was not “impeached and removed from office”. That was until she reached 65 years. UPFA leaders now say a long tenure for a CJ, as the Bandaranayake example has shown, was not helpful to them. Hence, the three-year rule.
The need to make clear that Standing Orders of Parliament are also law has been necessitated by the Supreme Court determination, ahead of the Parliament debating the impeachment motion, that it was not part of the country’s law. The determination was sought by nine different petitioners from the Court of Appeal which in turn referred it to the Supreme Court.
“The new amendments will tie up all loose ends in respect of Standing Orders and other issues that have arisen,” a Minister who did not wish to be identified said yesterday. He said the 19th Amendment would be introduced “within weeks” and added that the contours of these amendments were now the subject of discussion. This is both at Cabinet level as well as at the level of leaders of partners of the UPFA, he added.
Another amendment to the Constitution, the 20th, is expected to come when the Government revises provisions of the 13th Amendment. UPFA leaders are now discussing how these changes should be effected.
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