A petition challenging the 13th Amendment and the establishment of Provincial Councils filed in the Supreme Court

A petition challenging the 13th Amendment and the establishment of Provincial Councils filed in the Supreme Court.

Attorney at Law Aruna Laksiri Unawatuna filed a petition in the Supreme Court today (August 28, 2026) under Article 121 of the Constitution, challenging the bill to amend the Judicature Act No. 2 of 1978. The petition states that during the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and the establishment of Provincial Councils, counsel submitted an incorrect English version rather than the valid Constitution of Sri Lanka. He stated that by citing paragraph 83(b) of the English version of the Constitution, lawyers committed an error during the 13th Constitutional Amendment Bill stage in 1987, as well as during the 19th Constitutional Amendment Bill stage in 2015. He argued that this amounts to constitutional fraud, creating a legal situation where the legal maxim "Fraud vitiates everything" (fraus omnia vitiat) applies, rendering the actions null and void. He further stated that this contradicts the unitary nature of the state and the sovereignty of the people. Moreover, he stated that utilizing and submitting a constitution in any language other than the one recognized for lawmaking under the 1972 Constitution is contrary to the people's sovereignty. He brought to the Supreme Court's attention that several linguistic discrepancies exist between the legally valid version of the 1978 Constitution and its English translation. As evidence, he submitted a document dated August 11, 2026, wherein the Chairman of the Election Commission notified the Presidential Secretary to rectify one such discrepancy found between Article 83, paragraph (b) of the English version and the corresponding paragraph (ආ) of the official version. Attorney at Law Aruna Laksiri also pointed out that out of the 12 articles referenced within Article 83 of the Constitution, three operate in contradiction to one another. He argued that because this issue remains unrectified to date, a referendum is required for the bill in question. Accordingly, the lawyer has requested the Supreme Court to rule that the bill to amend the Judicature Act No. 2 of 1978—which was placed on the parliamentary order paper and read for the first time by the Minister of Justice on August 18, 2026—is inconsistent with Articles 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 23, 30(2), 62(2), and 83(ආ) of the Constitution. Therefore, the petition seeks a declaration that the bill cannot become law unless it is passed by a two-thirds majority in Parliament, approved by the people at a referendum in accordance with Article 83, and duly endorsed by the President with his signature as per Article 80 of the Constitution. The petitioner has also forwarded copies of the petition to the Speaker of Parliament and the Attorney General. Dr. Thilaka Padma Subasinghe Memorial Legal Education Program. Translation of the article 13 සහ පළාත් සභා පිහිටුවීම අභියෝගවන පෙත්සමක් ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණයට.... https://neethiyalk.blogspot.com/2026/08/13.html?m=1