UNP rejects judicial tenure extension, urges IMF-backed court reforms

Friday, 7 August 2026 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Ex-President and UNP Leader

Ranil Wickremesinghe

The United National Party (UNP) Working Committee has rejected the Government’s proposal to amend the Constitution and the Judiciary Act to extend the tenure of judges, arguing that the move would fail to address Sri Lanka’s mounting court backlog and runs contrary to recommendations made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In a resolution issued yesterday, the UNP said reducing the backlog of an estimated 1.1 million cases was a national priority but maintained that extending judges’ retirement age was “not a solution” to the problem.

The party pointed to the IMF Governance Diagnostic Assessment commissioned by the Ranil Wickremesinghe administration, saying the report identified structural and administrative weaknesses in the judicial system rather than judicial tenure as the principal cause of delays.

According to the IMF assessment, excessive delays in the courts impose significant costs on businesses, with banks and private sector institutions often reluctant to rely on the judicial system to enforce loan agreements. The report noted that contract enforcement in Sri Lanka typically takes six to seven years, while nearly 45,000 debt recovery cases remain pending in the Colombo District Court, where each of its 10 judges handles around 2,000 cases.

The assessment also found that District Judges manage about 2,000 cases annually, Magistrates more than 5,000 cases each year, and that commercial courts face critical shortages of support staff.

The UNP said the IMF had instead recommended establishing a dedicated special court to clear the backlog, streamlining court administration, strengthening judicial research support, expanding Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms and reforming judicial procedures to accelerate case disposal. “The IMF evaluation did not recommend extending the tenure of judges,” the party said, arguing that the Government’s justification for the proposed constitutional amendment was therefore unfounded.

The UNP called for the IMF report to be debated in Parliament before any constitutional changes are pursued, with the participation of the Attorney General, the Judiciary and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka to formulate a broader reform framework.

The party also urged the Government to prioritise filling vacancies in the Supreme Court and other courts and said the case backlog should be reduced by at least 300,000 to 400,000 cases as part of a wider judicial reform program.

The Working Committee resolved that the proposed constitutional amendment should be suspended pending broader stakeholder consultations, after which the Justice Ministry should present a comprehensive reform package. The UNP said it would fully support such a process.