MONETABRIEF - President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has vowed to press ahead with his judicial reforms despite warnings from the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) that he could be toppled if he proceeds.

During discussions with BASL leadership at the Presidential Secretariat on Wednesday afternoon, the president made it clear he was “willing to take any risks to bring about positive change”.

A BASL member warned Dissanayake that he too could suffer the fate of a former president forced out of office if he amends the Constitution to raise the mandatory retirement age of judges by two years.

While the BASL has publicly accused the government of judicial capture by granting judges two additional years, Dissanayake refuted the allegation, noting that his move was not aimed at any individual judge.

“Regarding the risk mentioned by Mr Upul (a member of the BASL) that I might meet the same fate as another president because of this constitutional amendment, I am not someone who came here expecting to remain in these positions forever.

“I am also prepared to take the risk involved in bringing about this change,” he said.

The BASL also told the president that if he wanted to clear the backlog of some 1.1 million cases before Sri Lankan courts, he must fill vacancies in the superior courts.

The president said he was unable to fill four vacancies in the Court of Appeal by overlooking the senior High Court judges currently hearing the Easter Sunday case.

The case was filed against 25 suspects in August 2021. Dissanayake said the case was at an advanced stage and promoting the judges hearing it now would further delay proceedings.

The then attorney-general had laid 23,270 charges against the 25 accused and listed over 3,000 witnesses. If Court of Appeal vacancies were filled by overlooking the High Court judges hearing the Easter Sunday case, it would be an injustice to them.

The president also asked the BASL whether anyone complained of judicial capture when the number of Supreme Court judges was raised from 11 to 17 and the number of Court of Appeal judges from 12 to 20 under the 20th Amendment to the Constitution during President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s tenure.

The president said a complete overhaul was needed in the entire criminal justice system.

The police had an approved cadre of 102,000, but there were only 72,000 on the current payroll. Of that number, 4,000 are not in active service due to medical reasons.

The president said he had authorised the recruitment of 10,000 police officers in addition to staff for the Bribery Commission and the judicial service to speed up the entire criminal justice process.

He said sone 1,100 policemen died while on duty last year underscoring how stretched the service was with some having to work 18 to 20 hours at a stretch.

The government will also establish Bribery Commission branches in every district by employing 373 officers. (Colombo/Aug13/2026)