Supreme Court rules no referendum needed for Sri Lanka’s 22nd Amendment

FILE PHOTO – (Photo credit: Parliament of Sri Lanka)

The Supreme Court has determined that Sri Lanka’s 22nd Amendment to the Constitution Bill does not require a referendum, while the Bill must receive a two-thirds majority in Parliament to become law.

Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne announced the Supreme Court’s determination at the commencement of parliamentary proceedings today (September 22).

The Speaker said he had received the Supreme Court’s determinations on both the Twenty Second Amendment to the Constitution Bill and the Judicature (Amendment) Bill. Both Bills had been challenged before the Supreme Court under Article 121(1) of the Constitution.

According to the determination, none of the provisions of the Twenty Second Amendment to the Constitution Bill, or any part of the Bill, require approval by the people at a referendum under Article 83 of the Constitution.

However, as it is a constitutional amendment, the Bill requires the support of at least two-thirds of the whole number of Members of Parliament under Article 82(5) of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court also specified a change to the first proviso in Clause 2 of the Bill. The Sinhala wording referring to the date on which a person “reaches the age of 67” is to be replaced with wording referring to the date on which the person “completes the age of 67.”

The court further directed that a second proviso be added to Clause 2. Under this provision, the six-year term limit set out in the first proviso will not apply to any person holding the office of Chief Justice on the date the amendment comes into operation.

The Supreme Court also issued its determination on the separate Judicature (Amendment) Bill, stating that its provisions are not inconsistent with the Constitution. The court determined that the Bill may therefore be passed by a simple majority in Parliament.

Speaker Wickramaratne ordered that the full Supreme Court determinations be printed in the official report of today’s parliamentary proceedings.

Both the Twenty Second Amendment to the Constitution Bill and the Judicature (Amendment) Bill were presented to Parliament on August 18, 2026.

Parliament is scheduled to debate the two Bills on September 24 and 25, 2026.