1. The Bill of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was introduced to the Parliament on 19 September 2002, which sought to amend Article 70 of the Constitution. However, the amendment was not implemented in 2002 because  7 Supreme Court judges delivered their Supreme Court determination SC/SD/11/2002, which ruled that the amendment should be made law through a referendum.

2. A Bill of the19th Amendment to the Constitution was presented to the Parliament again on 24 March 2015, seeking to amend Article 70 and several other Articles of the Constitution and the said amendment became law without holding a referendum in accordance with the Supreme Court determination SC/SD/04/2015 given by 3 Supreme Court judges.

3. Individuals filed cases SC/FR/177/2024 and SC/FR/191/2024 in the Supreme Court to correct the errors made in the 19th Amendment to the Constitution brought in 2015, and those cases were dismissed with costs of Rs. 1 lakh and Rs. 5 lakh.

4. In such a situation and background, President Ranil Wickremesinghe made a public statement at the opening ceremony of the Galle Court Complex on 19.07.2024, stating that due to the oversight of a legal scholar, a mistake had been made in the 19th Amendment to the Constitution brought in 2015 and that he apologized to the people for it. This was stated in the presence of Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, Attorney General Parinda Ranasinghe and other judges, government officials and the public.

5. To correct the errors that occurred in the 19th Amendment to the Constitution brought in 2015, the Bill of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution has been published in the Gazette issued on 18.07.2024 in accordance with Article 78 of the Constitution with the approval of the Attorney General. The purpose of this bill is to amend Article 83 of the Constitution by correcting the term of office of the President and the Parliament.

6. The fact that individuals have filed cases in the Supreme Court to correct the mistakes made in the 19th Amendment to the Constitution brought in 2015, and after receiving decisions in this regard, the President has admitted that mistakes have been made in the 19th Amendment to the Constitution brought in 2015 and stated that those mistakes were the oversight of a legal scholar, apologized to the people for those mistakes, and published the 22nd Amendment Bill in the Gazette with the approval of the Attorney General to correct those mistakes are constitutional and legal matters that should be brought to the attention of the Bar Association.

7. The Bar Association has the responsibility and duty to investigate and correct the mistakes made in the 19th Amendment to the Constitution brought in 2015, to correct the errors in Article 83 of the Constitution, to protect the precedent of the Supreme Court decisions, to protect the right to the rule of law and to ensure the rule of law. To remain silent in this regard is to deprive the people of liberty, justice and equality.

http://neethiyalk.blogspot.com/2024/12/is-bar-association-silent-on-mistakes.html?m=1

Aruna Laksiri Unawatuna B.Sc(Col), PGDC(Col), Attorney-at-Law. Coordinator, Dr. Thilaka Padma Subasinghe Memorial Legal Education Program. Tel. 0712063394.
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