Sri Lanka, Aug. 14 -- In politics, there are victories, but not all of them carry positive consequences in the long run. In contrast, victories entail disastrous consequences to the winner. It means victory carries the bitter taste of defeat.
The government's arrogance in pushing forward with constitutional amendments to extend the mandatory retirement age of superior court judges-raising Supreme Court tenure to 67 and the Court of Appeal to 65-falls squarely into the latter category. Even if this law successfully navigates the parliamentary process, it will stand as a classic Pyrrhic victory: a hard-fought battle won on paper, but at the catastrophic expense of public confidence, the morale of the wider legal fraternity, and the sacrosanc...