斯里兰卡于周五通过了备受争议的《宪法第22条修正案》，该修正案提高了法官的退休年龄，尽管反对党对此表示强烈抗议。经过两天的议会辩论，该修正案以三分之二的多数票获得通过。根据修正案，最高法院法官的退休年龄从65岁提高到67岁，上诉法院法官的退休年龄从63岁提高到65岁。这一举措引发了反对党及斯里兰卡律师协会的批评；他们认为该修正案会损害司法独立性。投票结果为：158名议员支持该修正案，63名议员反对。代表政府发言的资深部长比马尔·拉特纳亚克表示，该修正案的目的仅在于改革司法系统并确保司法公正的迅速实现。他说：“这并非像以往那样为了延长议会任期或总统的执政时间。”拉特纳亚克还补充道：“我们并不想让政府借此巩固其权力——正如反对党所诬称的那样。”目前，斯里兰卡的司法系统积压了约110万起未处理的案件。然而，主要反对党领袖萨吉特·普雷马达萨指出，该修正案显然旨在破坏司法独立性；他警告称：“这将对民主制度构成严重威胁。”主要反对党“萨马吉·贾纳·巴拉韦加亚”（Samagi Jana Balawegaya）的成员们身穿黑色服装出席议会，以表达对这一决定的抗议。尽管反对党和律师协会进行了长达数月的抗议，该修正案仍得以通过。反对党还要求政府就该修正案的合法性举行全民公投。
Sri Lanka on Friday adopted the controversial 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, which raises the retirement age of judges, despite strong protests from the opposition. The amendment was passed with a two-thirds majority after a two-day debate in Parliament.The change increases the retirement age of Supreme Court judges from 65 to 67 years and that of Court of Appeal judges from 63 to 65. The move has triggered criticism from opposition parties and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, who have argued for months that it would undermine judicial independence.The amendment was approved with 158 members voting in favour and 63 against. Speaking for the government, senior minister Bimal Ratnayake said the amendment was only aimed at reforming the judiciary and ensuring the swift delivery of justice. He said, "This is not an amendment to extend the life of parliament or to extend the terms of presidents as happened before." Ratnayake added, "We do not want this to keep a stronghold of government as falsely accused by the opposition."Sri Lanka has a judicial backlog of an estimated 1.1 million cases. However, the main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa said the amendment was clearly intended to undermine the independence of the judiciary. "This would put democracy seriously under threat," Premadasa said. Members of the main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya attended Parliament in black attire to protest against the move.The amendment was adopted despite months-long protests by opposition parties and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka. The opposition also challenged the government to hold a referendum to enact the amendment. According to several opposition figures, petitions filed in the Supreme Court argued that the 22nd Amendment infringes Article 3 of the Constitution, which relates to the sovereignty of the people, and therefore requires approval through a nationwide referendum in addition to a two-thirds majority in Parliament.With the amendment now passed, Sri Lanka has changed the retirement age for judges even as the government says the measure is meant to speed up justice delivery and the opposition maintains that it threatens judicial independence and democracy.With PTI Inputs- Ends
根据几位反对派人士的说法，提交给最高法院的请愿书指出，第22条修正案违反了宪法第3条（该条款涉及人民的主权），因此除了需要获得议会三分之二多数票的通过外，还必须通过全国性公投来批准这一修正案。随着该修正案的正式通过，斯里兰卡的法官退休年龄发生了变化。政府称这一举措旨在加快司法裁决的效率，而反对派则认为这会威胁到司法独立和民主制度。报道来源：PTI。
Sri Lanka on Friday adopted the controversial 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, which raises the retirement age of judges, despite strong protests from the opposition. The amendment was passed with a two-thirds majority after a two-day debate in Parliament.The change increases the retirement age of Supreme Court judges from 65 to 67 years and that of Court of Appeal judges from 63 to 65. The move has triggered criticism from opposition parties and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, who have argued for months that it would undermine judicial independence.The amendment was approved with 158 members voting in favour and 63 against. Speaking for the government, senior minister Bimal Ratnayake said the amendment was only aimed at reforming the judiciary and ensuring the swift delivery of justice. He said, "This is not an amendment to extend the life of parliament or to extend the terms of presidents as happened before." Ratnayake added, "We do not want this to keep a stronghold of government as falsely accused by the opposition."Sri Lanka has a judicial backlog of an estimated 1.1 million cases. However, the main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa said the amendment was clearly intended to undermine the independence of the judiciary. "This would put democracy seriously under threat," Premadasa said. Members of the main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya attended Parliament in black attire to protest against the move.The amendment was adopted despite months-long protests by opposition parties and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka. The opposition also challenged the government to hold a referendum to enact the amendment. According to several opposition figures, petitions filed in the Supreme Court argued that the 22nd Amendment infringes Article 3 of the Constitution, which relates to the sovereignty of the people, and therefore requires approval through a nationwide referendum in addition to a two-thirds majority in Parliament.With the amendment now passed, Sri Lanka has changed the retirement age for judges even as the government says the measure is meant to speed up justice delivery and the opposition maintains that it threatens judicial independence and democracy.With PTI Inputs- Ends