The President and Secretary of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) filed a Special Determination petition before the Supreme Court today seeking a declaration that the proposed “Twenty Second Amendment to the Constitution” requires approval by the people at a referendum, arguing that the Bill threatens the independence of the Judiciary and the sovereignty of the people.

BASL President Rajeev Amarasuriya and Secretary Nalin De Silva filed the Special Determination petition under Articles 120 and 121 of the Constitution.The BASL has also requested the Chief Justice to constitute a Full Bench comprising all sitting Supreme Court judges to hear the matter, citing the grave, exceptional and urgent Constitutional issues arising from the Bill and an alleged conflict of interest.