The Parliamentary Council was a constitutional authority in
Sri Lanka established under the
18th Amendment to the
Constitution of Sri Lanka
The Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්රී ලංකා ආණ්ඩුක්රම ව්යවස්ථාව, Śrī Laṃkā āndukrama vyavasthāva, ta, இலங்கை அரசிய ...
. Formally being constituted on January 1, 2011 as per the 18th Amendment, it replaces the
Constitutional Council Constitutional Council might refer to:
* Constitutional Council (Chad)
* Constitutional Council (France)
* Constitutional Council (Ivory Coast)
* Constitutional Council (Sri Lanka)
* Constitutional Council (Cambodia)
* Constitutional Council (Kaz ...
that was established under the 17th Amendment. After
Maithripala Sirisena
Maithripala Yapa Sirisena ( si, පල්ලෙවත්ත ගමරාළලාගේ මෛත්රීපාල යාපා සිරිසේන; ta, பல்லேவத்த கமராளலாகே மைத்திரி ...
was elected
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
,
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Ranil Wickremesinghe
Ranil Wickremesinghe ( si, රනිල් වික්රමසිංහ, ta, ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க; born 24 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who is the current president of Sri Lanka since 21 July 2 ...
presented the new reforms to reinstate a new Constitutional Council in 2015 under the
Nineteenth Amendment.
Powers and tasks
Compared to the ten member
Constitutional Council Constitutional Council might refer to:
* Constitutional Council (Chad)
* Constitutional Council (France)
* Constitutional Council (Ivory Coast)
* Constitutional Council (Sri Lanka)
* Constitutional Council (Cambodia)
* Constitutional Council (Kaz ...
, which made approval of names of nominees to the independent committees/commissions mandatory; the Parliamentary Council has powers only to recommend persons to the independent committees. The sole authority of appointing members of the independent committees was vested with the
President of Sri Lanka and while he is needed to seek the observations of the council, its decisions are not binding.
Bribery Commission still defunct while complaints pile up
/ref>
Commissions
The Council recommends members to several independent committees/commissions. These are;
* Public Service Commission
* Human Rights Commission
A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights.
The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...
* Elections Commission
* National Police Commission
* Commission to Investigate Allegation of Bribery or Corruption
Commission or commissioning may refer to:
Business and contracting
* Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered
** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anothe ...
* Finance Commission
* Delimitation Commission.
Membership
The membership of the Parliamentary Council was made up of five members, of whom three are ''ex officio'' members and two would be nominated to ensure ethnic representation. The Prime Minister, the Opposition Leader and the Speaker are compulsory members of the committee. The Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader can nominate one person each to the committee from the communities to which the compulsory members do not belong.
; ''Ex officio'' Members
* Hon. D. M. Jayaratne - Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
* Hon. Chamal Rajapaksa
Chamal Jayantha Rajapaksa ( Sinhala: චමල් රාජපක්ෂ; Tamil: சமல் ராஜபக்ஷ; born 30 October 1942) is a Sri Lankan politician who was Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka from 2010 to 2015. Previously he ...
- Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka
The Speaker of the Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the presiding officer of the chamber. The current Speaker of the Parliament is Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, in office since 20 August 2020. The Speaker fulfills ...
* Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe
Ranil Wickremesinghe ( si, රනිල් වික්රමසිංහ, ta, ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க; born 24 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who is the current president of Sri Lanka since 21 July 2 ...
- Leader of the Opposition
; Nominated Members
* Hon. D. M. Swaminathan - Member of Parliament
* Hon. A.H.M. Azwer - Member of Parliament
; Secretary to the Parliamentary Council
*Dhammika Kitulgoda
Dhammika Kitulgoda is a Sri Lankan civil servant and judge. He is the Secretary General of Parliament (1999–2002, 2008–2012), Secretary to the Constitutional Council and District Judge.
Educated at Rahula Vidyalaya Matara and at the Royal ...
- Secretary General of Parliament
The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ''Shri Lanka Parlimenthuwa'', Tamil: இலங்கை நாடாளுமன்றம் ''Ila ...
Location
The Council sits at the Sri Lankan Parliament Building
The Sri Lankan Parliament Complex (also known as the New Parliament Complex) is a public building and landmark that houses the Parliament of Sri Lanka. Situated in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, the administrative capital, it is built on an island ...
in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte.
See also
*Constitutional Council (Sri Lanka)
The Constitutional Council (CC) is a 10-member constitutional authority in Sri Lanka tasked with maintaining independent commissions and monitoring its affairs. The Constitutional Council is aimed at depoliticizing the public service.
History ...
References
{{reflist
Government of Sri Lanka
2011 establishments in Sri Lanka
2015 disestablishments in Sri Lanka