* Can the constitutional error acknowledged by the Attorney General—and the error in the English text of the Constitution pointed out by the Election Commission to the Secretary to the President—be overshadowed by the "beating of a deer skin" (muwa hamakata thadi baema) (මුව හමකට තඩි බෑමෙන්) regarding the move to extend the tenure of judges?

* Opposing the extension of judges' terms is like beating a dear skin. * Can the constitutional error acknowledged by the Attorney General—and the error in the English text of the Constitution pointed out by the Election Commission to the Secretary to the President—be overshadowed by the "beating of a deer skin" (muwa hamakata thadi baema) (මුව හමකට තඩි බෑමෙන්) regarding the move to extend the tenure of judges?

1. There is currently widespread discussion and criticism within print and electronic media, as well as the legal community, regarding the government's move to introduce a constitutional amendment to extend the tenure of judges. 2. Critics argue that the proposed constitutional amendment to extend judicial tenure is designed to retain a specific judge, thereby preventing colleagues from ascending to higher courts. 3. Beating the deer hide at home after the deer has ravaged the hena (slash-and-burn cultivation plot)" and "giving the elder sister in marriage by showing to the younger sister" are traditional Sinhala sayings; similarly, "aiming at the bush but hitting the hare" is also a common Sinhala proverb. 4. Some may be unaware that following the Supreme Court’s order imposing legal costs of Rs. 500,000 on a lawyer who argued that the presidential term was six years, a constitutional amendment bill—approved by the Attorney General and published in the Gazette on July 18, 2024, under Article 78—was introduced to rectify an error in Article 83 of the Constitution. Furthermore, the Chairman of the Election Commission has informed the Secretary to the President of the need to correct a discrepancy between the Sinhala and English texts of Article 83. 5. It is not possible to consider the constitutionality of a draft amendment—which seeks to extend the tenure of judges—against the backdrop of a flawed Article 83, particularly when the Attorney General has acknowledged the existence of an error in that Article and the Chairman of the Election Commission has informed the Secretary to the President of the need to rectify the discrepancy between the Sinhala and English texts of the Article without having actually done so. 6. Furthermore, as long as there are flaws in the Constitution, it is impossible to introduce not only a constitutional amendment but even a new Constitution without first rectifying those flaws. 7. While complex legal implications have emerged against extending the tenure of judges, certain individuals in the legal and media sectors targeting a specific judge—effectively "beating a dead horse" (or using him as a scapegoat)—contradicts the sovereignty of the people and the constitutional duty to protect the Constitution. (In this regard, the 36th Sinhala-medium legal education program will be held on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at the Colombo Public Library Lobby.) Aruna Laksiri Unawathuna BSc (Col), PGDC (Col), AAL. (Coordinator) Dr. Thilaka Padma Subasinghe Memorial Legal Education Programme Telephone: 0712063394 [* Translation of the Article විනිසුරු ධූර කාලය වැඩි කිරීමට යාම සම්බන්ධයෙන් "මුව හමකට තඩි බෑමෙන්" නීතිපති පිළිගෙන ඇති ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ වැරද්ද සහ මැ.කො විසින් ජනාධිපති ලේකම්ට දැනුම් දුන් ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ ඉංග්‍රීසි භාෂා පාඨයේ වරද යටපත් කළ හැකිද? * විනිසුරු ධූර කාලය වැඩි කිරීමට එරෙහිව මුව හමකට තඩි බෑම....* https://neethiyalk.blogspot.com/2026/07/blog-post_18.html?m=1 ]