Parliament will debate the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution Bill on September 24 and 25, following the Supreme Court’s determination on petitions challenging the constitutionality of the proposed legislation.

The Supreme Court’s confidential determination on the 22nd Amendment has been received by the Speaker of House, according to the Speaker’s Office. The determination is expected to be announced in Parliament by the Speaker tomorrow (22).

The debate on the 22nd Amendment was scheduled for September 24 and 25 by the Committee on Parliamentary Business.

The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution Bill and the Judicature Amendment Bill were presented to Parliament on August 18 by Minister of Justice Harshana Nanayakkara.

More than 65 petitions were subsequently filed before the Supreme Court challenging the Bills. The petitions were taken up for hearing on September 1 before a five-member bench headed by the Chief Justice.

The hearing concluded on September 2, after which the Supreme Court bench stated that its determination on the constitutionality of the Bill would be communicated to the Speaker.

Changes to parliamentary business

Meanwhile, Parliament has made several changes to its business scheduled for September 22 and 23 during the parliamentary week from September 22 to 25.

Parliament Secretary General Kushani Rohanadeera said the changes were decided at a meeting of the Committee on Parliamentary Business held today (21) under the chairmanship of Deputy Speaker Dr. Rizvie Salih.

Accordingly, the Second Reading debate on the Export Agriculture Promotion (Amendment) Bill, which was originally scheduled for September 22 from 11.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., will now be held on September 23 during the same time period.

Parliament has also decided not to proceed with the Sri Lanka Institute of Chartered Media Professionals Bill, which had been scheduled for its Second Reading debate on September 23.

In addition, Parliament is scheduled to consider a Supplementary Estimate of Rs. 17.213 billion on September 23 to provide financial assistance to the public in relation to electricity bills.

The Supplementary Estimate is scheduled to be presented to Parliament on September 22.

According to the Parliament Secretary General, the required funds will be obtained by reallocating provisions allocated to Line Ministries for 2026 that have been identified as unlikely to be utilized by the end of the year.

The reallocation will not affect the overall expenditure ceiling approved under the Appropriation Act No. 23 of 2025 or the Government’s maximum borrowing limit.

The parliamentary business scheduled for September 24 and 25 will otherwise remain unchanged, a statement from the Department of Communication noted.