Democracy (The New Constitution)
On December 14, 1966, in his keynote address at the 22nd annual session of the Ceylon Association for the Advancement of Science, President Jayewardene made the first public expression of a Presidential system of Government to replace the Westminster system of Parliament. The major failure, he pointed out, in the existing system was that
‘we have not achieved the economic freedom our people are entitled to. If the system of democratic government has failed in some aspects we should not hesitate to think of changes and amendments in that system where necessary’.
However, when President Jayewardene introduced the new constitution in 1978, Sri Lanka was already a Republic with an appointed President who was the figurehead of the Government in the same mould as was the Governor General of Ceylon under the Westminster constitution the country had from 1948 to 1972.
The only new feature of the 1972 constitution, apart from the change of designation of the Governor General to President, was the introduction of the Constitutional Court.
The 1971 insurrection rendered the United Front Government helpless, and in this crisis President Jayewardene's call for a National Government was, however, not heeded. The United Front Government sought a solution in a new constitution, which in Professor A.J. Wilson's words;
'was the result of weak compromises born out of the conflicts and the rivalries of social democrats, Sinhala Buddhist ethnic militants and Marxists'.
It floundered in its own morass of incompetence, corruption and intrigue and lasted just five years.
The New Constitutional Structure
The Executive
In the election manifesto of 1977 the United National Party spelt out the need for a new constitution, one that pronounced democracy with the prerogative resting with the people to elect their own President. The new constitution was drafted taking those of the UK, USA and France as its models, but with modifications to suit the Sri Lankan culture and tradition of its people. The main criticism was that the French model was a total failure. But President Jayewardene was determined to change the very structure of the Government, giving the people the option to select their own President with executive powers, proportional representation, which assured the rightful place for the political conviction of the masses, referendal democracy, a preservation of fundamental rights and freedom of worship and speech. Among all these features the Parliament, as the decision making authority, reigned supreme as the bastion of democracy. The Prime Minister was to be appointed by the President from the party which commanded a majority in the Parliament and cabinet to consist of elected Members of Parliament.
The Legislature
The President, under the new constitution is both an executive in the French style and a Prime Minister in the British model. He is a member as well as the Head of the Cabinet. In President Jayewardene's words
'I will always act through the Cabinet and Parliament, preserving the Parliamentary system as it existed without diminution of these powers’.
The Judiciary
Eliminating all differences and disputes in the judiciary (which were prevalent in the ULF era) and re-introducing the principle of separation of powers which the 1972 constitution had deliberately rejected, the Supreme Court was set up as the highest judicial authority. A Court of Appeal was set up immediately below the Supreme Court and above the High Court.
For the first time the Constitution provided for the judicial review of executive action, with certain restrictions such as
• bills considered to be urgent in national interest to be scrutinized within 24 hours
• existing laws inconsistent under the Constitution permitted to stand
• enacted legislature to remain without judicial review.
Minority Rights
The Constitution maintains Sinhala as the official language and recognizes Tamil as a second language, whereby for the first time in the history of the country the new Constitution recognizes the Tamil community as a distinct nationality with a separate language.
Fundamental Rights
The Constitution whilst enumerating eight fundamental rights embraces every human being in that 'no citizen shall be discriminated against on the grounds of race, religion, caste, sex, political opinion or place of birth.' All citizens are protected against the infringement of rights either by the executive or administrative action.
The executive power of the elected President was construed by critics as dictatorial power but his argument was that any decision on constitutional matters required not only a majority of two thirds in Parliament but a reference to the general public as well. However, not withstanding the great ambit of executive power devolved upon him by the constitution, President Jayewardene’s decisions did not bear a dictatorial tinge. In the Third World, however, there have evolved a few semi-dictatorial or totalitarian states in the past. Most Heads of States assume power mainly by undemocratic means or coups. Most States eg. South Korea, Thailand and Philippines thrust forward the economic progress at the expense of human rights and civil liberties. But nothing of this nature happened in Sri Lanka under President Jayewardene who cherished Parliamentary democracy and always respected and advocated the Rule of Law, whilst he used the executive power to propel the economic growth of the country. The giant Mahaweli Project, the Free Trade Zone, the Jayewardenepura Hospital and the new Parliamentary Complex are living examples to this development thrust.
President Jayewardene gave every opportunity for the opposition to express their views over the media. The citizens of Sri Lanka were the first in Asia to express their choice in a referendum, when President Jayewardene desired to obtain a fresh mandate to continue the life span of the Parliament. It is by the new constitution of 1978 that the rights of citizens are meaningfully safeguarded and democratic liberties are maintained. It is because of President Jayewardene that Sri Lanka stands out as an epitome of democracy of the Third World.
