The Parliamentary Council was a constitutional authority in
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
established under the
18th Amendment to the
Constitution of Sri Lanka. Formally being constituted on January 1, 2011 as per the 18th Amendment, it replaces the
Constitutional Council that was established under the 17th Amendment. After
Maithripala Sirisena was elected
President,
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe 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, 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
The President of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්රී ලංකා ජනාධිපති ''Śrī Laṃkā Janādhipathi''; ta, இலங்கை சனாதிபதி ''Ilankai janātipati'') is the head of state and head of government of t ...
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
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Commissions
The Council recommends members to several independent committees/commissions. These are;
* Public Service Commission Public Service Commission may refer to:
* Public utilities commission
** Alabama Public Service Commission
** Public Service Commission (Indiana)
** Public Service Commission of Utah
** Public Utilities Commission of Ohio
** Public Utilities Com ...
* Human Rights Commission
* Elections Commission
* National Police Commission
* Commission to Investigate Allegation of Bribery or Corruption
* 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
Dissanayaka Mudiyanselage Jayaratne ( si, දිසානායක මුදියන්සේලාගේ ජයරත්න, ta, திசாநாயக்க முதியன்சேலாகே ஜயரத்ன; 4 June 1931 – 19 No ...
- Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
The Prime Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the head and most senior member of parliament in the cabinet of ministers. It is the second-most powerful position in Sri Lanka's executive branch behind the president, wh ...
* Hon. Chamal Rajapaksa - Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka
* Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe - Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
; Nominated Members
* Hon. D. M. Swaminathan
Deva Manoharan Swaminathan ( ta, தேவ மனோகரன் சுவாமிநாதன், si, දේවා මනෝහරන් ස්වාමිනාදන්; born 30 April 1945) is a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer, politician and ex cab ...
- Member of Parliament
* Hon. A.H.M. Azwer
Abdul Hameed Mohamed Azwer (8 February 1937 – 29 August 2017) was a Sri Lankan politician and a Member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. He was of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party which nominated him on its national list to the Parliament of Sri Lanka
...
- Member of Parliament
; Secretary to the Parliamentary Council
* Dhammika Kitulgoda - Secretary General of Parliament
Location
The Council sits at the Sri Lankan Parliament Building in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, commonly known as Kotte (), is the legislative capital of Sri Lanka. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is a satellite city and located within the urban area of Sri Lanka's de facto economic, executive, and judicial capital, ...
.
See also
* Constitutional Council (Sri Lanka)
References
{{reflist
Government of Sri Lanka
2011 establishments in Sri Lanka
2015 disestablishments in Sri Lanka