Cabinet Approves Move to Raise Retirement Age of Sri Lanka's Judges

COLOMBO (News 1st); Cabinet approval has been granted for a proposal to increase the retirement age of judges serving in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and other courts by two years.

Accordingly, the proposal will now be referred to the Legal Draftsman for preparation, before being forwarded for the Attorney General's clearance.

Under Article 107(5) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka, the current retirement age of Supreme Court judges is stipulated as 65 years.

Under the new proposal, it is intended to increase that age to 67 years through a constitutional amendment.

The same constitutional provision currently sets the retirement age of Court of Appeal judges at 63 years, while the proposed retirement age would be increased to 65 years.

Sources at the Ministry of Justice stated that a parallel proposal is also expected to be presented with regard to the retirement age limits of High Court and Magistrates' Court judges.

At present, the mandatory retirement age for High Court judges is 61 years.

The current retirement age for Magistrates and District Court judges is 60 years.