What is the world coming to when a nation's highest legal authority turns a deaf ear to urgent calls for justice reform? In Sri Lanka, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) has been sounding the alarm over a deepening judicial crisis — one that threatens the very foundation of the country's legal system. As of Saturday, 11th July 2026, four vacancies remain unfilled in both the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, and President Anura Kumara Dissanayake appears unmoved by repeated, formal appeals to act. This is not merely a bureaucratic delay. It is a constitutional crisis unfolding in slow motion, with real consequences for every Sri Lankan citizen seeking justice.
A Crisis Years in the Making
The judicial vacancy problem in Sri Lanka did not emerge overnight. Courts across the country have long struggled with overwhelming caseloads, procedural backlogs, and insufficient judicial resources. However, the failure to appoint judges to the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal represents a particularly alarming escalation. These are not lower-tier tribunals handling minor disputes. These are the apex institutions of Sri Lanka's judiciary — the courts responsible for interpreting the constitution, safeguarding fundamental rights, and delivering final judgments on matters of national importance.
With four vacancies sitting idle in each of these critical courts, the burden on existing judges has become unsustainable. Cases are delayed, appeals are stalled, and citizens who have waited years for justice are being forced to wait even longer. The ripple effects extend far beyond the courtroom, impacting businesses, families, human rights cases, and criminal proceedings that require timely resolution at the highest judicial level.
The BASL's Repeated Calls Go Unanswered
The Bar Association of Sri Lanka has not been silent on this matter. Quite the opposite — the BASL has made its concerns abundantly clear through formal correspondence directly addressed to President Dissanayake. In its most recent letter, the association renewed its urgent call for the President to initiate the appointment process and fill the glaring vacancies without further delay. The language used reflects not just frustration, but a deep sense of institutional alarm.
Yet, the President remains impervious to these appeals. There has been no public acknowledgment of the BASL's concerns, no timeline offered for appointments, and no explanation provided to the public or the legal community as to why these critical positions have been left vacant. This silence from the executive is troubling. In a functioning democracy, the separation of powers demands that the executive respect and support the judiciary. Allowing courts to operate understaffed is, in effect, undermining the rule of law itself.
What Does This Mean for Ordinary Citizens?
It is easy to view judicial appointments as an abstract, elite concern — something that lawyers and politicians debate in air-conditioned offices far removed from everyday life. But the reality is starkly different. Every vacancy in the Supreme Court or Court of Appeal directly affects ordinary Sri Lankans. A family waiting for a property dispute to be resolved. A wrongfully convicted individual whose appeal sits in a queue. A business embroiled in a commercial litigation that cannot proceed. A victim of human rights abuse seeking constitutional remedy.
Justice delayed is justice denied — and in Sri Lanka right now, justice is being denied on a systemic scale. When the highest courts cannot function at full capacity, the entire legal ecosystem suffers. Lower courts look to higher courts for guidance and precedent. Lawyers cannot advise clients with certainty. Investors hesitate when legal frameworks appear unstable. The social contract that binds citizens to their government begins to fray.
A Test of Democratic Accountability
President Dissanayake came to power on a platform of reform, accountability, and a break from the political failures of the past. The judicial vacancy crisis presents him with an early and significant test of those commitments. Filling these positions is not a politically controversial act — it is a constitutional obligation. The process for appointing Supreme Court and Court of Appeal judges is well established, and the candidates available within Sri Lanka's legal community are more than capable of serving with distinction.
The question, therefore, is not one of capacity. It is one of political will. And so far, that will appears to be absent.
The Bigger Picture: Where Is the World Headed?
Sri Lanka's situation is not unique. Across the globe, democratic institutions are being tested by executive indifference, political polarization, and a growing disregard for the rule of law. When presidents and prime ministers treat judicial systems as inconveniences rather than pillars of governance, the consequences are felt for generations. Sri Lanka has already endured enormous economic and political turmoil in recent years. The last thing its citizens need is a judiciary weakened from within by neglect.
The Bar Association of Sri Lanka deserves credit for its persistence and its principled stand. But persistence alone cannot fill a courtroom bench. Only the President can act — and the time to act is now. The world may indeed be asking what it is coming to, but Sri Lanka's judiciary is asking something more urgent: how much longer must justice wait?