COLOMBO, Sept. 22 -- Sri Lanka's Supreme Court has determined that the proposed 22nd Amendment to the Constitution does not require approval at a referendum and may be enacted with a two-thirds majority in Parliament, Speaker Dr Jagath Wickramaratne announced on Tuesday (22).

The Court's determination was presented to Parliament at the commencement of the day's sitting. The Bill, which seeks to extend the retirement age of judges and increase the number of Court of Appeal judges from 20 to 25, had been challenged before the Supreme Court under Article 121(1) of the Constitution.

The Court, however, directed that specific changes be made to the Bill, determining that the phrase 'upon attaining the age of 67 years' in the proviso to Claus...