Government of Sri Lanka

The Constitution of Sri Lanka has been the constitution of the island nation of Sri Lanka since its original promulgation by the National State Assembly on 7 September 1978. It is Sri Lanka's second republican constitution, and its third constitution since the country's independence (as Ceylon) in 1948. As of October 2020 it has been formally amended 20 times.

The President, directly elected for a five-year term, is head of state, head of government, and commander in chief of the armed forces. The election occurs under the Sri Lankan form of the contingent vote. Responsible to Parliament for the exercise of duties under the constitution and laws, the president may be removed from office by a two-thirds vote of Parliament with the concurrence of the Supreme Court.

The President appoints and heads a cabinet of ministers responsible to Parliament. The President's deputy is the prime minister, who leads the ruling party in Parliament. At anytime president can dissolve the cabinet and the appointment a new one.

Sri Lanka elects on national level a head of state - the president - and a legislature. The president is elected for a five-year term by the people. The Parliament has 225 members, elected for a five-year term, 196 members elected in multi-seat constituencies through proportional representation system where each party is allocated a number of seats from the quota for each district according to the proportion of the total vote that party obtains in the district.

The Parliament of Sri Lanka

The Parliament has 225 members, elected for a six-year term, 196 members elected in multi-seat constituencies and 29 by proportional representation. The President may summon, suspend, or end a legislative session and dissolve Parliament any time after it has served for one year. Parliament reserves the power to make all laws.

The primary modification is that the party that receives the largest number of valid votes in each constituency gains a unique "bonus seat" (see Hickman, 1999). Since its independence in 1948, Sri Lanka has remained a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Supreme Court Complex, Hultsdorf

The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the country. It is set out in the constitution, which defines courts as independent institutions within the traditional framework of checks and balances. The Sri Lankan courts are presided over by professional judges, judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President with the nomination of the Parliamentary Council, others by the Judicial Service Commission.[2]

Sri Lanka has a legal system which is an amalgam of English common law, Roman-Dutch civil law and Customary Law.

Sri Lanka
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Sri Lanka
Constitution Previous constitutions: 1931 · 1947 Law of Sri Lanka Human rights Law enforcement
Government Executive President (List) Prime Minister (List) Cabinet of Ministers Ministers of the Government Ministries of the Government Legislature Parliament Speaker Deputy Speaker Leader of the House Leader of the Opposition Member of Parliament Judiciary Constitutional Council Supreme Court Chief Justice Court of Appeal High Courts District Courts Magistrate's Courts Primary Courts Labour Tribunal
Elections Election Commission Recent elections Presidential: 2005 2010 2015 Parliamentary: 2010 2015 2020 Political parties
Administrative geography Provinces Districts Municipalities Wards Grama Niladhari divisions
Foreign relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs Minister Diplomatic missions of / in Sri Lanka Passport Visa requirements Visa policy
Related issues Civil War Taxation Sri Lanka Portal
Sri Lanka portal Other countries

General

• Government of Sri Lanka
• The Official Website of the Data and Information Unit of the Presidential Secretariat, Sri Lanka

Law

• Official site of the Judicial Service Commission Secretariat
• Sri Lanka's Legal Information Network

Executive Branch

• Official site of the Presidency
• Official site of the Presidential Secretariat

Legislative Branch

• Official site of the Parliament of Sri Lanka

Judiciary

• Official site of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka
• Official site of the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka

Others

• Official Government News Portal