Английская Википедия:Constitutional Council (Sri Lanka)

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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

The Constitutional Council was first established in 2000 under the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka. In 2010 President Mahinda Rajapaksa established the Parliamentary Council, under the Eighteenth Amendment, to replace it. 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.

The independent commissions were established under the Constitutional Council, fulfilling one of the major promises of the United National Party led Opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena during the 2015 presidential election.

Membership

Composition

The composition of the Constitutional Council consists of ten members, of whom three are ex officio members while the rest are appointed. As per Chapter VIIA, Article 41, of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka, members of the council consists of the following:

• (a) the Prime Minister;
• (b) the Speaker of Parliament;
• (c) the Leader of the Opposition;
• (d) one person appointed by the President;
• (e) five persons appointed by the President, on the nomination of both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition; and
• (f) one person nominated by agreement of the majority of the Members of Parliament belonging to political parties or independent groups, other than the respective political parties or independent groups to which the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition belong, and appointed by the President.

Qualification

It is the duty of the speaker, as chairman, to ensure that nominations for appointments to the Constitutional Council's appointed seats (the non ex officio members) are made, whenever an occasion for such nominations arise. Members nominated under sub paragraphs d, e or f "shall be persons of eminence and integrity who have distinguished themselves in public or professional life and who are not members of any political party". All appointments made by the President shall be communicated to the Speaker.

Members can vacate the office by resigning in the form of writing addressed to the President or can be removed from office by the President when both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition have formed the opinion that such member is "physically or mentally incapacitated and is unable to function further in office or is convicted by a court of law for any offence involving moral turpitude or if a resolution for the imposition of civic disability upon him or her has been passed in terms of Article 81 of the Constitution or is deemed to have vacated his or her office under paragraph (7) of Article 41E". The President shall within two weeks, of there being a vacancy of any of the appointed members, appoint another person to succeed that member. The newly appointed member shall hold office for the remainder of the unexpired term of his/her predecessor.

Term

The Speaker shall continue to hold office as a member of the Council for as long as they continue to occupy the office. The members occupying the seats held by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition shall continue to hold office as members of the Council for as long as they continue to occupy the office, or until such time after a General Election following such dissolution of parliament. All appointed members shall hold office for a term of three years from the date of appointment. Appointed members are not eligible for reappointment. However members shall continue to hold office on the council until a successor assumes the seat of the vacating member.

Members

2015-2018

The President and Prime Minister appointed their nominees, Minister Champika Ranawaka (President's nomination), Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe (Prime Minister's nomination) and Vijitha Herath (Parliament's nomination), have been appointed to the council on 9 September 2015.

Appointed members A. T. Ariyaratne, Radhika Coomaraswamy and Shibly Aziz were nominated to the council on 10 September 2015 and were approved by parliament on 22 September 2015.

2018-2021

Appointed members Naganathan Sellvakumaran, Jayantha Dhanapala, and Javed Yusuf was nominated to the council on 19 October 2018.

2020

Jayantha Dhanapala resigned from the council in 2020, after 2020 General election Karu Jayasuriya was replaced by the new speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardane as the 2nd chairman. Mahinda Rajapaksa and Sajith Premadasa were elected by their position as Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition. Mahindananda Aluthgamage was named as the Presidents nomination. In 2020 20th amendment was passed dissolving the council.

2022

In October 2022 Parliament pass the 21st amendment establishing the council back.

Seat No.	Member		Seat	Joined Council	Left Council/ End of term	Party	Notes
1	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena	Speaker	20 August 2020	Incumbent	Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna	Chairman
2	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Dinesh Gunawardena	Prime Minister	22 July 2022	Incumbent	Mahajana Eksath Peramuna
3	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Sajith Premadasa	Leader of the Opposition	5 December 2019	Incumbent	Samagi Jana Balawegaya
4	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Nimal Siripala De Silava	President's nomination	29 November 2022	Incumbent	Sri Lanka Freedom Party
5	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Vacant	Parliament's nomination
6	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Sagala Kariyawasam	Prime Minister's nomination	29 November 2022	Incumbent	Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna
7	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Kabir Hashim	Opposition Leader's nomination	15 November 2022	Incumbent	Samagi Jana Balawegaya
8	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Dr. Pratap Ramanujam	Nominated by the Prime Minister & Leader of Opposition	05 January 2023	Incumbent	Independent
9	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Dr. (Mrs) Dilkushi Anula Wijesundere	Nominated by the Prime Minister & Leader of Opposition	05 January 2023	Incumbent	Independent
10	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Dr. (Mrs) Weligama Vidana Arachchige Dinesha Samararatne	Nominated by the Prime Minister & Leader of Opposition	05 January 2023	Incumbent	Independent

Former Members

Seat No.	Member		Seat	Joined Council	Left Council/ End of term	Party	Notes
4	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Champika Ranawaka	Prasident's nomination	9 September 2015	17 September 2018	Jathika Hela Urumaya	Term Ended.
6	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe	Prime's Minister's nomination	9 September 2015	28 December 2017	United National Party	Resigned.
6	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Tilak Marapana	Prime's Minister's nomination	29 December 2017	22 September 2018	United National Party	Term Ended.
7	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	John Seneviratne	Opposition Leader's nomination	22 September 2015	22 September 2018	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	Term Ended.
5	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Vijitha Herath	Parliament's nomination	22 September 2015	22 September 2018	Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna	Term Ended
8	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	A. T. Ariyaratne	Nominated by the Prime Minister	22 September 2015	22 September 2018	Independent	Term Ended.
9	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Radhika Coomaraswamy	Nominated by the Prime Minister	22 September 2015	22 September 2018	Independent	Term Ended.
10	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Shibly Aziz	Nominated by the Prime Minister	22 September 2015	22 September 2018	Independent	Term Ended.
2	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Ranil Wickremesinghe	Prime Minister	9 September 2015	26 October 2018	United National Party	Removed from Prime Minister
3	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	R. Sampanthan	Leader of the Opposition	9 September 2015	18 December 2018	Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi	Term Ended after leaving Office.
2	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Mahinda Rajapakse	Prime Minister	18 December 2018	11 November 2018	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	Suspended acting as Prime Minister and lost by a No confidence motion.
7	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Chamal Rajapaksa	Opposition Leader's nomination	11 October 2018	10 January 2019	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	Resign after Mahinda Rajapakse was apponined Opposition Leader
2	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Ranil Wickremesinghe	Prime Minister	26 October 2018	22 December 2019	United National Party	Resigned from post after elections.
3	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Mahinda Rajapakse	Leader of the Opposition	18 December 2018	21 November 2019	Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna	Appointed as Prime Minister
8	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Jayantha Dhanapala	Nominated by the Prime Minister	11 October 2018	14 May 2020	Independent	}
1	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Karu Jayasuriya	Speaker	9 September 2015	Incumbent	United National Party	Chairman
4	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Mahinda Samarasinghe	President's nomination	17 September 2018	25 August 2020	Sri Lanka Freedom Party
2	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Mahinda Rajapakse	Prime Minister	18 November 2020	09 May 2022	Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna	Resigned as Prime Minister
4	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Mahindananda Aluthgamage	President's nomination	18 November 2020	14 July 2022	Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna
7	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Thalatha Athukolara	Opposition Leader's nomination	11 August 2021	14 November 2022	Samagi Jana Balawegaya
9	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Ahamed Javid Yusuf	Nominated by the Prime Minister	11 October 2018	14 May 2020	Independent	}
10	style="background:Шаблон:Party color" |	Naganathan Selvakkumaran	Nominated by the Prime Minister	11 October 2018	14 May 2020	Independent	}

Staff

The Constitutional Council has the power to appoint officers it deems necessary for its functioning upon such terms and conditions as it may determine.

Secretary General to the Constitutional Council

The Secretary General to the Constitutional Council is appointed, by the Constitutional Council, for a five-year renewable term.

Functions

Commissions

The following independent commissions were established under the Constitutional Council:

Dr. Deepika Udagama was appointed as the new Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka on 20 October 2015. Sri Lanka also appointed members to Public Service Commission and the Police Commission on the same day. Dharmasena Dissanayake has been appointed the Chairman of the Public Service Commission. the Police Commission media unit said today. Justice Titus Bodhipala Weerasuriya was appointed as the Chairman of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption. The President gave approval for the most important independent election commission, former election Mahinda Deshappriya was elected the chairman. By 15, 9 November out of 10 commissions were established with the promise given to the people from the Maithripala Sirisena and United National Party election manifestos in 2015 elections.

Political nominations

Constitutional Council is responsible of giving their recommendations for high ranking posts of government institutions such as:

• Chief Justice and Judges of the Supreme Court
• President of the Court of Appeal and Judges of the Court of Appeal
• Members of the Judicial Service Commission except its Chairman
• Attorney General
• Auditor General
• Inspector General of Police
• Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (Ombudsman)
• Secretary General of Parliament

The first such recommendation was to apportionment Gamini Wijesinghe for the post of Auditor General in November 2015. On 10 February 2016, Constitutional Council has recommended the Senior Solicitor General and President's Counsel Jayantha Jayasuriya for the post of Attorney General.

Making history in Sri Lanka the Constitutional Council met on 18 April 2016 to make a recommendation for the post of Inspector General of Police. It was the first time in Sri Lanka a Constitutional Council with members represented by many political parties were collectively selected an IGP. Senior DIG Pujih Jayasundara was selected by 5 to 2 vote for the post.

Procedure

Nominations

The Constitutional Council give recommendations as to who is to be appointed by the President for the high level political offices stated above. The council nominates and gives consents to one candidate to be appointed to office from the one or more candidates proposed to the council by the President. Candidates are endorsed after debate and a secret ballot, they may or may not appear before the council. Once a final decision has been made the council will inform its decision to the President in writing.

Duties & powers

The council shall submit to the President a report of its activities every three months. It has the power to make rules relating to the performance and discharge of its duties and function. All such rules shall be published in the Gazette and be placed before Parliament.

"Subject to the provisions of Article 126, no court shall have the power or jurisdiction to entertain, hear or decide or call in question, on any ground whatsoever, or in any manner whatsoever, any decision of the Council or any approval or recommendation made by the Council, which decision, approval or recommendation shall be final and conclusive for all purposes."

Meetings

The Constitutional Council shall meet as frequently as possible when necessary for the performance of its functions, in addition to meeting at least twice a month. A quorum for the meeting of the Constitutional Council is five members. The Speaker shall take the chair of the Constitutional Council, however in his/her absence, the Prime Minister will take over, and in the absence of both the Leader of the Opposition shall take the chair. The Secretary General convenes all meetings of the Constitutional Council, upon the directions of the Chairman.

2015

• 10 September - The first meeting of the new Constitutional Council, held at the official residence of the Speaker, to discuss the appointment of the three Independent members and the appointment of the independent commissions.
• 21 September - Constitutional Council met
• 23 September - Constitutional Council met

See also

• Constitution of Sri Lanka