Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka · 2023 Revised Edition · Chapter XXI · Transitional Provisions
161. First Parliament
Unofficial copy, with amendments up to 31 Oct 2022. Later amendments are not included. Check the official text before you rely on it.
Unofficial copyFrom Parliament of Sri Lanka, unchanged
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any other provision of the Constitution –
the first Parliament shall consist, of one hundred and sixty-eight members and subject to the succeeding provisions of this Article, all persons who immediately before the commencement of the Constitution were members of the National State Assembly shall be deemed to have been elected as
Members of Parliament;
172 - Substituted by the Third Amendment to the Constitution Sec. 4.
(i)
if the election, as a Member of the
National State Assembly, of a person deemed to have been elected to the first Parliamentis declared void under the law for the time being in force and no other person is determined to have been duly returned or elected, the seat of such Member shall be vacant, and an election to the electoral district as existing immediately prior to the commencement of the Constitution, shall be held in accordance with the law relating to elections to the National
State Assembly in force immediately before the commencement of the
Constitution and on the basis of the register of electors applicable to such electoral district which was operative on the day immediately preceding the commencement of the Constitution;
the law applicable to election petitions in relation to an election held as provided in sub-paragraph (i) shall be the law in force upon the commencement of the
Constitution and in the event of such an election being declared void the provisions of sub-paragraph (i) shall, mutatis mutandis, apply;
if the election as a Member of the National
State Assembly of a person who is deemed to have been elected to the first Parliament is declared void or undue and any other person is determined to have been duly returned or elected such other person shall be deemed to have been duly elected as a Member of the first Parliament;
(i)
where immediately before the commencement of Constitution there was a vacancy in the membership of the National State Assembly or where a vacancy in the membership of the first Parliament occurs otherwise than under the provisions of paragraph (b)
of this Article, such vacancy shall be filled in the manner provided in sub-paragraph (iii) hereof;
173[(ii)
Where during the duration of the First
Parliament, a Member ceases, by resignation, expulsion or otherwise, to be a member of the recognized political party to which he belonged upon or after the commencement of the
Constitution, the Secretary of such party shall, within two weeks of the date on which such Member so ceased to be a member of such party, communicate, in writing to the Secretary-General of
Parliament, the fact and date thereof.
The Secretary-General shall, upon receipt of such communication, submit it to the Speaker.
Where a Member ceases to be a member of the recognized political party to which he belonged by reason of being expelled from such party, he shall be entitled to apply, within one month of the date of such expulsion by petition in writing, to the Supreme
Court for a determination that such 173 - Substituted by the Second Amendment to the Constitution Sec. 2.
expulsion was invalid. In the event of any such application being made, the
Registrar of the Supreme Court shall forthwith inform the Secretary-General of Parliament in writing, of such application, every such application shall be heard and determined by not less than three Judges of the Supreme
Court who shall, within two months of the making of such application, determine whether such expulsion was valid or not.
The Speaker shall, on receiving in the aforesaid manner, a communication alleging that a Member has ceased to be a member of the recognized political party to which such Member belonged, appoint a Select Committee consisting of not less than five
Members of Parliament (one of whom shall be nominated as Chairman thereof) to inquire into, and report to
Parliament on, the circumstances in which such Member is alleged to have resigned from, or to have been expelled from, or to have otherwise ceased to be a member of, such party, and the reasons therefor:
Provided, however, that where such communication alleges that a
Member has ceased to be a member of the recognized political party to which he belonged by reason of his being expelled therefrom, no
Select
Committee shall be appointed as aforesaid until after the expiration of a period of one month from the date of such alleged expulsion, and in any case where such Member has applied to the
Supreme Court for a determination that such expulsion was invalid, unless and until the
Supreme
Court has determined that such expulsion was valid.
The provisions of the Parliament
(Powers and Privileges) Act shall, mutatis mutandis, apply in relation to proceedings before, and to the privileges, immunities and powers of, a Select Committee appointed as aforesaid and every such Select
Committee shall be deemed, for the purposes of that Act, to be duly authorized by an order of Parliament to send for persons, papers and records.
After consideration of the report made by a Select Committee appointed as aforesaid, Parliament may, by resolution passed by not less than eighty-five Members voting in its favour, resolve that the Member to whom such report relates, shall cease to be a Member of Parliament. The
Speaker shall endorse on every resolution so passed, a certificate in the following form:–
“This resolution has been passed by the majority required by Article 161 (d)(ii) of the Constitution”.
The seat of such Member shall, with effect from the date of such certificate, become vacant.
Every such certificate shall be conclusive for all purposes and shall not be questioned in any court, and no court or tribunal shall inquire into, pronounce upon or in any manner call in question, the validity of the resolution on which such certificate is endorsed on any ground whatsoever.]
Where a vacancy as is referred to in sub-paragraph (i) or (ii) has occurred, the Secretary-General of
Parliament shall forthwith inform the
Commissioner of Elections of such vacancy.
The
Commissioner of
Elections shall thereupon require the
Secretary of the political party to which such Member belonged to nominate a member of such party 174[to fill such vacancy. A nomination made by the Secretary of such political party under this sub-paragraph shall be accompanied by an oath or affirmation, as the case may be, in the form set out in the Seventh Schedule, taken and subscribed or made and subscribed, as the case may be, by the person nominated to fill such vacancy Upon the receipt of such nomination, accompanied by such oath or affirmation the Commissioner] shall 174 - Substituted by the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution Sec. 4(1).
declare such person to be the Member for the electoral district in respect of which the vacancy occurred:
175[Provided that where the
Secretary 5of such political party fails to nominate a member of such political party to fill such vacancy under the preceding provisions of this sub-paragraph 176[within thirty days of 6his being required to do so and in the aforesaid manner] or where the
Secretary of a political party had been required, before the coming into force of this proviso, to nominate a member of such political party to fill any such vacancy under such provisions and such Secretary fails, within thirty days of the coming into force of this proviso, to nominate a member of such political party to fill such 177[vacancy, or where such political party is deemed to be prescribed under Article 157A, then, the Commissioner of Elections]
shall forthwith so inform the
President, who shall, within thirty days of the receipt by him of such information, by Notice published in the Gazette order the Commissioner of
Elections to hold an election for the electoral district in respect of which such vacancy has occurred. The
Commissioner of
Elections shall thereupon hold an election, in 175 - Inserted by the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution Sec. 2(b).
176 - Substituted by the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution, Sec. 4(2)(a).
177 - Substituted by the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution Sec. 4(2)(b).
accordance with Part I and Parts IV to
VI (both inclusive) of the Ceylon
(Parliamentary Elections) Order in
Council, 1946, for such electoral as existed immediately preceding the
Constitution and on the basis of such part of the register, prepared under the
Registration of Electoral Act, No. 44 of 1980, and in operation, as corresponds to such electoral district. The aforesaid parts of the Ceylon (Parliamentary
Elections) Order in Council, 1946, shall, for the purposes of such election and notwithstanding the repeal of such
Order in Council, be deemed to be in force and shall, mutatis mutandis and except as otherwise expressly provided in the Constitution, apply to such election.
The law applicable to election petitions in relation to such electoral district shall be the aforesaid parts of such
Order in Council as applied aforesaid and in the event of such election being declared void and no other person is determined to have been duly returned or elected, the election to fill such vacancy shall be held in accordance with the provisions of this proviso.]
178[(iv)
Where a Member nominated or elected to fill any such vacancy as is referred to in sub-paragraph (i) or sub-paragraph (ii), being a Member who has taken and subscribed or made 178 - Inserted by the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution Sec. 4(3).
and subscribed an oath or affirmation in the form set out in the Seventh
Schedule, directly or indirectly, in or outside Sri Lanka, supports, espouses, promotes, finances, encourages or advocates the establishment of a separate State within the territory of
Sri Lanka, any person may make an application to the Court of Appeal for a declaration that such member has directly or indirectly, in or outside Sri
Lanka, supported, espoused, promoted, financed, encouraged or advocated the establishment of a separate State within the territory of Sri Lanka.
If the Court of Appeal makes, on such application, a declaration that such
Member has directly or indirectly, in or outside Sri Lanka, supported, espoused, promoted, financed, encouraged or advocated the establishment of a separate State within the territory of
Sri Lanka, the seat of such Member shall be deemed to be vacant with effect from the date of such declaration and such Member shall be disqualified from sitting and voting in Parliament and from being elected or nominated to Parliament for a period of seven years from the date of such declara-tion. The vacancy occurring in the membership of Parliament by reason of such declaration shall be filled in the manner provided in paragraph (iii).
The jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal in respect of its powers under this sub-paragraph shall be exercised in the manner provided in sub-paragraph (iv)
of the proviso to paragraph (2) of
Article 146.]
179[(e) Unless sooner dissolved, the
First
Parliament shall continue until August 4,
1989 and no longer and shall thereupon stand dissolved, and the provisions of
Article 70(5)(b) shall, mutatis mutandis, apply.]
Chapter XXII
Interpretation
Chapter XXIII
Repeal
Chapter XXIV