Sajith's Bid to Gather MPs Fails | BASL Says No to Request for Briefing Before All MPs

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) has announced that it will not participate in a programme requested by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa to brief Members of Parliament on the proposed 22nd Constitutional Amendment.

BASL President Attorney-at-Law Rajeev Amarasuriya confirmed the decision.

The development comes after Premadasa sought to bring several representatives of the Bar Association to Parliament and have them present their views on the 22nd Constitutional Amendment before all 225 Members of Parliament.

The proposal had already drawn opposition from Government members, who maintained that such an arrangement would be entirely contrary to established parliamentary procedures.

Government representatives argued that no approval had been granted by Parliament for all 225 MPs to be convened before a professional body to hear its views on pending legislation.

It was against this backdrop that BASL President Rajeev Amarasuriya stated that the Bar Association would not be participating in the meeting requested by the Opposition Leader.

In a letter addressed to the Opposition Leader, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) has requested Sajith Premadasa to postpone a proposed briefing for Members of Parliament on the constitutional amendment concerning the extension of the retirement age of judges, citing the absence of bipartisan consensus on the matter.

BASL President Rajeev Amarasuriya described the proposed briefing as an important and timely initiative and said the association had initially hoped it would create an opportunity for MPs from all parties to better understand the concerns raised by the legal profession regarding the constitutional amendment.

The Bar Association stated that, given the national importance of the issue, it had expected bipartisan support for such a discussion. However, following proceedings in Parliament on August 19 and the position expressed by the Government, which BASL refered to as 'the position of the government  expressed threat', the association concluded that there was currently neither consensus nor sufficient interest from the Government in facilitating such an opportunity for its Members of Parliament.

According to the letter, while the Opposition had already expressed strong objections to the proposed constitutional amendment, the BASL believed the briefing would have been particularly useful for Government MPs in objectively evaluating the issues involved.

In light of the prevailing political circumstances, the Bar Association requested that the proposed session be postponed until bipartisan participation could be assured.