AKD defends 22A, says government will listen but will not retreat from decisions taken for the people.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has strongly defended his Government’s approach to decision-making, declaring that once a decision has been carefully considered and taken in the interests of the people, it will not be reversed simply because opposition or criticism follows.
Speaking at the National Milad-un-Nabi observance on Wednesday, the President made the remarks while responding to controversy surrounding the proposed 22nd Amendment to the Constitution.
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“Once a decision has been taken, it will not be reversed,” the President said, explaining that advantages, disadvantages and other relevant factors were considered before decisions were reached.
But he added an important qualification: if weaknesses were subsequently found, the Government would not hesitate to correct them.
The President defended 22A as a measure intended to speed up the delivery of justice. He pointed to cases taking years – in some instances decades – to conclude and questioned how public confidence in the justice system could be maintained under such circumstances.
The proposed amendment would extend the retirement ages of judges of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal and increase the number of Court of Appeal judges.
The President’s declaration comes at a particularly sensitive moment. The constitutionality of 22A has now been challenged before the Supreme Court, placing the ultimate constitutional question not in the hands of the Executive, but before the country’s highest court.
The Government may therefore have made its policy decision.
Whether it may constitutionally implement that decision in precisely the manner proposed is now for the Supreme Court to determine.
