President Has Violated the Constitution, Says Wijeyadasa
05-Jun-2026.
Senior Vice-President of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, has accused the President of violating his oath of office and deliberately breaching the Constitution by failing to make judicial appointments to the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal.
Speaking at a media briefing held at the SLFP headquarters in Colombo on June 2, Rajapakshe said the country’s judicial system had become severely dysfunctional.
“The Supreme Court has a history spanning 225 years. What is happening today has never occurred during this entire period. There are currently four vacancies in the Supreme Court, while court cases continue to accumulate,” he said.
He noted that four vacancies in the Supreme Court represented a significant shortfall given the limited number of judges serving on the bench. He further pointed out that the Court of Appeal has only 20 judges and that vacancies in both apex courts would inevitably affect the timely delivery of justice.
Rajapakshe stated that in recent years, several judges from the Court of Appeal and High Courts had retired after serving 28, 32, and even 34 years in the judiciary, despite being eligible for elevation to higher courts and despite vacancies existing at those levels.
“What is the reason for this? The Government has no interest in upholding justice. It is unwilling to grant promotions to deserving judges. Under such circumstances, how can we expect justice to prevail?” he asked.
He further stated that the Constitution places a clear responsibility on the President to take necessary measures to uphold the law and fulfil constitutional obligations.
“However, the President has already violated the oath he took. Failing to appoint judges to the country’s highest courts is not a routine administrative lapse but a deliberate violation of Article 107 of the Constitution. If a President intentionally violates the Constitution, the consequence should be the initiation of impeachment proceedings,” he said.
