Sri Lanka judicial reforms will raise judges’ retirement ages, expand higher courts and reopen facilities to reduce long case delays.
The proposed Sri Lanka judicial reforms have received constitutional clearance from the Attorney General, allowing the government to advance major changes across the court system.
The reforms aim to improve judicial efficiency and reduce delays in hearing cases.
Authorities plan to implement them through amendments to the Constitution, the Judicature Act and the Pensions (Government and Judicial Officers) Ordinance.
Under the proposed legal changes, the retirement age of judges across several levels of the judiciary will increase by two years.
The extension will cover judges of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and High Court. It will also apply to District Court judges and Magistrates.
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Sri Lanka Judicial Reforms Expand Higher Courts
The number of Court of Appeal judges will rise from 19 to 24.
Meanwhile, the number of High Court judges will increase from 110 to 120.
The government has also established two Civil Appellate High Courts in place of the single court that previously handled such matters.
Officials expect the additional court to help address the existing backlog of cases.
The number of Commercial High Courts will increase from three to five. High Courts conducting criminal trials will also rise from eight to 11.
Several official residences previously allocated to ministers have been converted into judicial complexes to support the expansion.
Authorities have also introduced daily hearings in Halls No. 06, 10 and 11 of the Colombo High Court.
These courtrooms will hear bribery cases daily to accelerate proceedings.
Closed Courts Reopen as Jurisdiction Expands
The government has expanded the jurisdiction of eight Magistrate’s Courts to district level.
They include courts in Deiyandara, Angunakolapelessa, Bibile and Galgamuwa.
Courts in Ratnapura, Gampaha, Anuradhapura and Ampara had closed because of staff shortages. Authorities have now reopened those courts.
New courts have also been established in Puttalam, Wellawaya, Hatton and Welisara.
The reforms further include plans to recruit new officers to the Government Analyst’s Department.
Officials will also provide the department with modern technical equipment.
The government expects these combined measures to strengthen court capacity, accelerate evidence analysis and reduce prolonged delays across Sri Lanka’s justice system.
