Devolution of Legislative Power to the Provincial Council of Sri Lanka

Abstract

The objective of the study is to examine the states of legislative devolution in Sri Lanka under present constitution of 1978. The ‘Indo-Lanka Accord’ committed Sri Lanka to establish a system of devolution to Provincial Councils (PCs). Consequently with the aim of devolving power, the PCs were established in each of the nine Provinces of Sri Lanka under the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution. In a system where devolution of power exists, power is divided between the national and sub national level. In case of Sri Lanka such a division takes place between the central government which is the government at national level and the provincial council which is the government at sub national level. The legislation is the framework by which governments of whatever persuasion seek to achieve their purposes. Under a truly devolved system, the unit to which the power is devolved can exercise its autonomy in the implementation of the devolved functions. This autonomy should have been ensured, in the PC system as expected in the 1987 Indo-Lanka Agreement. It was found that the PCs are elected bodies which were given power to pass statutes applicable to their respective Provinces, with regards to certain specified matters. The legislative power of the PCs is not exclusive theirs. Issues related with legislative power also contributed to the weak capacity basis of the Provincial Council.