Twenty First Amendment to the Constitution · As enacted
3. Replacement of Chapter VIII of the Constitution
Official English translation. Where it differs from the Sinhala or Tamil text, the Act itself says which text prevails.
Official translationFrom Department of Government Printing, unchanged
Chapter VIII of the Constitution is hereby repealed and the following Chapter is substituted therefor:-
Powers and duties of the
Council.
Expenses to be charged on the
Consolidated
Fund.
Finality of decisions of the Council.
“CHAPTER VIII
THE EXECUTIVE
THE CABINET OF MINISTERS
42.
be
The President shall be responsible to
Parliament for the due exercise, performance and discharge of his powers, duties and functions under the Constitution and any written law, including the law for the time being relating to public security.
43.
t o Prime
There shall be a Cabinet of Ministers charged with the direction and control of the
Government of the Republic.
The Cabinet of Ministers shall be collectively responsible and answerable to
Parliament.
The President shall be a member of the
Cabinet of Ministers and shall be the Head of the Cabinet of Ministers:
Provided that, notwithstanding the dissolution of the Cabinet of Ministers under the provisions of the Constitution, the
President shall continue in office.
The President shall appoint as Prime
Minister the Member of Parliament, who, in the President’s opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of Parliament.
President to responsible
Parliament.
Minister and the Cabinet of Ministers.
44.
and
The President shall, in consultation with the Prime Minister, where he considers such consultation to be necessary, determine the number of Ministers of the Cabinet of
Ministers and the Ministries and the assignment of subjects and functions to such
Ministers.
The President shall, in consultation with the Prime Minister, appoint from among
Members of Parliament, Ministers, to be in charge of the Ministries so determined.
The President shall be the Minister in charge of the subject of Defence and may exercise, perform and discharge the powers, duties and functions of any Minister of the
Cabinet of Ministers or any Minister who is not a member of the Cabinet of Ministers, subject to the provisions of the Constitution, for not exceeding fourteen days during a period within which any subject or function is not assigned to any such Minister under the provisions of paragraph (1) of this Article or under paragraph (1) of Article 45 and accordingly, any reference in the Constitution or any written law to the Minister to whom such subject or function is assigned, shall be read and construed as a reference to the
President:
Provided however, preceding provisions of this paragraph shall not preclude the President from assigning any subject or function to himself in consultation with the Prime Minister and accordingly, any reference in the
Constitution or any written law to the Minister to whom such subject or function is assigned, shall be read and construed as a reference to the President.
Ministers and their subjects functions.
The President may at any time change the assignment of subjects and functions and the composition of the Cabinet of Ministers.
Such changes shall not affect the continuity of the Cabinet of Ministers and the continuity of its responsibility to Parliament.
45. (1) The President may, in consultation with the Prime Minister, appoint from among
Members of Parliament, Ministers who shall not be members of the Cabinet of Ministers.
The President may, in consultation with the Prime Minister where he considers such consultation to be necessary, determine the assignment of subjects and functions to
Ministers appointed under paragraph (1) of this
Article and the Ministries, if any, which are to be in charge of, such Ministers.
The President may at any time change any assignment made under paragraph (2).
Every Minister appointed under paragraph (1) shall be responsible and answerable to the Cabinet of Ministers and to
Parliament.
Any Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers may, by Notification published in the Gazette, delegate to any Minister who is not a member of the Cabinet of Ministers, any power or duty pertaining to any subject or function assigned to such Cabinet Minister, or any power or duty conferred or imposed on him by any written law, and it shall be lawful for such other
Minister to exercise and perform any power or duty delegated notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the written law by which that
Ministers who are not members of the Cabinet of Ministers.
power or duty is conferred or imposed on such
Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers.
46.
Deputy
The President may, in consultation with the Prime Minister, appoint from among
Members of Parliament, Deputy Ministers to assist Ministers of the Cabinet of Ministers in the performance of their duties.
Any Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers may, by Notification published in the Gazette, delegate to his Deputy Minister, any power or duty pertaining to any subject or function assigned to him or any power or duty conferred or imposed on him by any written law, and it shall be lawful for such Deputy Minister to exercise and perform any power or duty delegated notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the written law by which that power or duty is conferred or imposed on such
Minister.
47.
Deputy
The total number of–
Prime
Ministers of the Cabinet of
Ministers shall not exceed thirty; and
Ministers who are not members of the Cabinet of Ministers and
Deputy Ministers shall not, in the aggregate, exceed forty.
The Prime Minister shall continue to hold office throughout the period during which the Cabinet of Ministers continues to function under the provisions of the Constitution unless he–
Ministers.
Tenure of office of the
Minister, and the limitation of numbers and tenure of office of
Ministers and
Ministers.
is removed by a writing under the hand of the President;
resigns his office by a writing under his hand addressed to the President; or
ceases to be a Member of Parliament.
A Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers, a Minister who is not a member of the Cabinet of Ministers and a Deputy Minister, shall continue to hold office throughout the period during which the Cabinet of Ministers continues to function under the provisions of the Constitution unless he–
is removed from office under the hand of the President in consultation with the Prime Minister;
resigns from office by a writing under his hand addressed to the President; or
ceases to be a Member of Parliament.
Notwithstanding anything contained in paragraph (1) of this Article, where the recognized political party or the independent group which obtains highest number of seats in Parliament forms a National Government, the number of Ministers in the Cabinet of
Ministers, the number of Ministers who are not
Cabinet of Ministers and the number of Deputy
Ministers shall be determined by Parliament.
For the purpose of paragraph (4),
National Government means, a Government formed by the recognized political party or the independent group which obtains the highest number of seats in Parliament together with the other recognized political parties or the independent groups.
48.
after
The Cabinet of Ministers functioning immediately prior to the dissolution of
Parliament shall, notwithstanding such dissolution, continue to function and shall cease to function upon the conclusion of the
General Election and accordingly, the Prime
Minister and the Ministers of the Cabinet of
Ministers, shall continue to function unless they cease to hold office as provided in sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (2) or sub-paragraph (a) or (b) of paragraph (3) of Article 47 and shall comply with the criteria set out by the
Commissioner-General of Elections and shall not cause any undue influence on the General
Election.
Notwithstanding the death, removal from office or resignation of the Prime Minister, during the period intervening between the dissolution of Parliament and the conclusion of the General Election, the Cabinet of
Ministers shall continue to function with the other Ministers of the Cabinet of Ministers as its members, until the conclusion of the
General Election. The President may appoint one such Minister to exercise, perform and discharge the powers, duties and functions of the Prime Minister.
On the death, removal from office or resignation, during the period intervening
Cabinet of
Ministers dissolution of
Parliament.
between the dissolution of Parliament and the conclusion of the General Election, of a
Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers, the
President may, in consultation with the Prime
Minister, appoint any other Minister to be the
Minister in charge of the Ministry of such
Minister or to exercise, perform and discharge the powers, duties and functions of such
Minister.
49.
of the
On the Prime Minister ceasing to hold office by death, resignation or otherwise, except during the period intervening between the dissolution of Parliament and the conclusion of the General Election, the Cabinet of Ministers shall, unless the President has in the exercise of his powers under Article 70, dissolved Parliament, stand dissolved and the
President shall appoint a Prime Minister,
Ministers of the Cabinet of Ministers, Ministers who are not members of the Cabinet of
Ministers and Deputy Ministers in terms of
Articles 43, 44, 45 and 46:
Provided that if after the Prime Minister so ceases to hold office, Parliament is dissolved, the Cabinet of Ministers shall continue to function with the other Ministers of the Cabinet as its members, until the conclusion of the
General Election. The President may appoint one such Minister to exercise, perform and discharge the powers, duties and functions of the Prime Minister, and the provisions of
Article 48 shall, mutatis mutandis, apply.
If Parliament rejects the Statement of
Government Policy or the Appropriation Bill or passes a vote of no-confidence in the
Government, the Cabinet of Ministers shall
Dissolution
Cabinet of
Ministers.
stand dissolved, and the President shall, unless he has in the exercise of his powers under
Article 70, dissolved Parliament, appoint a
Prime Minister, Ministers of the Cabinet of
Ministers, Ministers who are not members of the Cabinet of Ministers and Deputy Ministers in terms of Articles 43, 44, 45 and 46.
50.
Acting
Whenever a Minister of the Cabinet of
Ministers, a Minister who is not a member of the Cabinet of Ministers or a Deputy Minister is unable to discharge the functions of his office, the President may, in consultation with the Prime Minister, appoint any Member of
Parliament to act in the place of such Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister who is not a member of the Cabinet of Ministers or a
Deputy Minister.
51.
Deputy
(a) There shall be a Secretary to the
Prime Minister who shall be appointed by the
President.
The Secretary shall have charge of the office of the Prime Minister and shall perform and discharge the duties and functions of his office, subject to the directions of the Prime
Minister.
(a) There shall be a Secretary to the
Cabinet of Ministers who shall be appointed by the President.
The Secretary shall, subject to the direction of the President, have charge of the office of the Cabinet of Ministers, and shall discharge and perform such other functions and duties as may be assigned to him by the
President or the Cabinet of Ministers.
Ministers and
Ministers.
Secretary to the Prime
Minister and
Secretary to the Cabinet of Ministers.
52. (1) There shall be a Secretary for every
Ministry of a Minister of the Cabinet of
Ministers, who shall be appointed by the
President.
The Secretary to a Ministry shall, subject to the direction and control of his Minister, exercise supervision over the departments of government and other institutions in charge of the Minister.
Notwithstanding the dissolution of the
Cabinet of Ministers under the provisions of the Constitution, the Secretary to a Ministry shall continue to hold office until a new
Secretary is appointed to such Ministry, in terms of the provisions of the Constitution:
Provided however, the Secretary to a
Ministry shall cease to hold office upon a determination by the President under Article 44 or 45 which results in such Ministry ceasing to exist.
For the purposes of this Article, the office of the Secretary to the President, the office of the Secretary to the Cabinet of Ministers, the office of the Auditor-General, the office of the
Parliamentary
Commissioner for
Administration (Ombudsman), the office of the
Secretary-General of Parliament, the
Constitutional Council, and the Commissions referred to in the Schedule to Article 41B shall be deemed not to be departments of
Government.
53.
or
A person appointed to any office referred to in this Chapter shall not enter upon the duties of his office until such person takes and
Secretaries to
Ministries.
Official oath affirmation.
subscribes the oath or makes and subscribes the affirmations set out in the Fourth Schedule and Seventh Schedule.”.