Attorney General Dappula de Livera informed Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court that the draft 20th constitution will be updated as the Supreme Court considers 39 petitions against the proposed bill this week.
The Attorney General said that the updates would be introduced during the committee stage debate in parliament on the draft 20th Amendment.
An unprecedented 39 people and organisations filed Fundamental Rights applications against the proposed 20th Amendment. These petitions point to concerns that the amendment will give undue power to the executive. The 20th amendment will further remove the duty of the president in “promoting national reconciliation and integration,” and grants to the president the power to “assign to himself any subject of function.
Opponents of the bill have been filed by human rights groups, individuals, and the opposition political party, Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB).
The five-member Supreme Court bench was appointed to consider the petitions, and hearings will continue through Wednesday. Economy Next notes that the initial decision by the Apex Court will determine whether the petitions will be heard.
Read more from the Colombo Gazette and Economy Next.
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