Tag: President

The Supreme Court has cleared the way for Parliament to decriminalise same-sex marriage with a simple majority in the House.

The Supreme Court has cleared the way for Parliament to decriminalise same-sex marriage with a simple majority in the House.

The Speaker informed Parliament on Tuesday that the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka had cleared the way for Parliament to decriminalise same-sex relationships with a simple majority in the House. In an exhaustive 43-page ruling, a three member bench ruled that the Bill was constitutional and would not require a two-thirds majority in the house or a national referendum. Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya was joined on the bench by Justices Vijith Malalgoda and Arjuna Obeyesekere. Initially, MP Premnath Dolawatte introduced a Private Member's Bill to Amend the Penal Code on April 4th. Three petitioners challenged the Bill and asked the Supreme Court to rule that it required a two-thirds majority in Parliament and a referendum, claiming that it was  inconsistent with the Constitution. Thirty other citizens and two civil society organisations then filed ...

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