CHANGES TO THE CONSTITUTION OF SRI LANKA
CHANGES TO THE CONSTITUTION OF SRI LANKA What is the impact of the Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka? Introduction The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka is the supreme law of the country comprising of the fundamental principles of governance according to which the state and its citizens are governed. Rooting back to its colonial history, Sri Lanka has witnessed many constitutional reforms from 1833 to 1948 under the British Colonial Rule. The country was introduced its first autochthonous constitution in 1972 when Sri Lanka became a republic. The second republican constitution or the present constitution was introduced in 1978 introducing a unicameral Parliament and a powerful Executive President. Since its enforcement, the 1978 Constitution has undergone several amendments and the most recent was introduced last year marking the twentieth instance the constitution has been amended so far. The Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution Bill was presented to Parliament on 22 September 2020 and it was passed with amendments on 22 October 2020 with a majority votes of two-thirds in the Parliament. Even before its enforcement the amendment sparked many debates and dialogs among the legal and political spheres of the country due to various reasons including its substantial deviation from the previous nineteenth amendment to the Constitution. Key Changes Among its different aspects the main areas concerning the changes brought by the Amendment can be identified as below: • Appointments to the judiciary, independent commissions and other high ranking officials and their removal process • Independent Commissions • The Parliament • The Cabinet of Ministers • Composition of the Judiciary • Legislative Process
Appointments to the Judiciary and key public institutions and removal process Prior to the twentieth Amendment, the two authorities involved in making the appointments were the President and the Constitutional Council, established by the previous nineteenth Amendment. The 10 member council was responsible for approving the President’s nominations to the Superior Courts of the country and recommending nominations to be appointed to several independent commissions and certain high-ranking offices. The twentieth amendment replaces the Constitutional Council with the Parliamentary Council, which was the operative authority from 2010 to 2015 introduced by the eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution. These two Councils substantially differ from each other not only in their powers and function but in the composition as well. Composition The Constitutional Council was comprised of 10 members including three civil society representatives. The Council was chaired by the Speaker of Parliament, and the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition were appointed as the other two ex-officio members. Another MP also represented the parties other than the main political parties. However, the Parliamentary Council does not include any civil society representation and is solely comprised of the Members of Parliament (Prime Minister, Speaker, Leader of the Opposition and another MP nominated by the Prime Minister). Powers and functions The Constitutional Council was responsible for approving the nominations of the President to the Superior Courts of the country imposing rather an obligatory role from the part of the President. However, as the twentieth Amendment enforces, the Parliamentary Council plays more of an observatory role, giving
His Honour Justice Neil Iddawala is a Judge of the Court of Appeal in Sri Lanka, a position he was appointed to by the President of Sri Lanka in December 2020. Previously he was the Deputy Secretary-General at the Parliament of Sri Lanka since 2012 and the Sri Lanka parliamentary correspondent for The Parliamentarian for many years. He has attended many CPA conferences and seminars. This article is written in a personal capacity and does not reflect the views of any third party.
180 | The Parliamentarian | 2021: Issue Two | 100 years of publishing
