– Justice Minister Attorney-at-Law Harshana Nanayakkara has reiterated that the government will move ahead with the proposed 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, including provisions to extend the retirement age of judges, while rejecting opposition claims that the reforms are designed to benefit a particular individual.

Speaking at a district convention in Badulla, Minister Nanayakkara said the government has no intention of backing down from its commitment to reform what he described as a judicial system that had been allowed to stagnate for decades.The Minister said the judiciary had accumulated a backlog of approximately 1.1 million cases, following years of inadequate reforms. He said that strengthening the justice system and ensuring that individuals accused of corruption and fraud are brought before the law were among the government’s key commitments.

Responding to criticism that the proposed amendment was designed to benefit a specific individual, the Minister said the retirement-age extension would apply across the judicial system. “If we had only increased the age for Supreme Court judges or a selected few, then their argument would hold weight,” Nanayakkara said.Nanayakkara maintained that the government remains committed to its judicial reform agenda and said the public would begin to see tangible results in the administration of justice and action against fraudsters by the end of the year.

He stressed that the government would not retreat from its reform program saying that moving backwards was not in its nature.