• 9964432222
  • Mail Us
  • Appointment
  • Locate Us
  • Chat Now
  • Courses
  • Login
  • Register
Manifest IAS
JournalsOfIndia
Advertisement
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Science & Tech
  • Environment
  • Law & Policy
  • History
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Science & Tech
  • Environment
  • Law & Policy
  • History
No Result
View All Result
  • 9964432222
  • Mail Us
  • Appointment
  • Locate Us
  • Chat Now
  • Courses
JournalsOfIndia
No Result
View All Result
Home Foreign Affairs

Amendments to Constitution of Srilanka

October 7, 2020
in Foreign Affairs
Reading Time: 5min read
0
Amendments to Constitution of Srilanka
97
VIEWS
Share on TelegramShare on Facebook

Srilankan’s long-lasting Tamil problem has always been a cause of concern in the island nation. Recent changes in the constitution are affecting the power structure in the central hierarchy. It also has an implication on India-Srilanka relations. So it is important to know the recent changes from the mains point of view.

In news: 20th amendment of the Srilankan constitution has been gazetted.
Placing it in syllabus: International relations

Static dimensions

  1. Provisions of the 19th Amendment
  2. 13th Amendment

Current dimensions

  1. What is the 20th Amendment?

Content:

What is the 20th Amendment?

  • The new government has drafted and gazetted the 20th Amendment on September 2, 2020.
  • It only retains from it the two-term bar on the presidency and the five-year term.
  • It has also removed the opportunity for citizens to challenge the executive actions of the President through fundamental rights applications.
  • The checks on presidential power within the executive are abolished by the removal of the requirement of the Prime Minister’s advice for the appointment and dismissal of Cabinet and other Ministers. 
  • The appointment and particularly the dismissal of the Prime Minister are no longer dependent on the confidence of Parliament but at the discretion of the President.
  • Parliament is disempowered against the executive by the restoration of the President’s power to dissolve Parliament at will at any time after the first year of its term.

Provisions of the 19th Amendment:

  • The 19th Amendment was passed in 2015 to curb the powers of the Executive President while strengthening Parliament and independent commissions. 
  • It was brought by the Yahapalanya (Good Governance) government of the United National Front of President Maithripala Sirisena.
  • It rolled back the 18th amendment that had been brought in by the preceding President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
  • The 18th amendment had removed the two-term bar on running for office and centralised more powers in the hands of the President. 
  • The 19th amendment restored the two-term bar on running for the presidency that was contained in the 1978 constitution.
  • It laid down the minimum age of 35 years for a presidential candidate and also barred dual citizens from the office.
  • It reduced the term of the presidency to five years from the six years laid down in the 1978 constitution.
  • The President also lost his power to sack the Prime Minister. 
  • It also placed a ceiling on the number of ministers and deputy ministers.
  • It decentralized the appointments to the nine commissions.
The 1978 Constitution was crafted by J R Jayewardene. It introduced the office of the Executive President in Sri Lanka, making it one of the most powerful of similar systems in the world.

13th Amendment: 

   It is an outcome of the Indo-Lanka Accord of July 1987, signed by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and President J.R. Jayawardene, in an attempt to resolve Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict that had aggravated into a full-fledged civil war, between the armed forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which led the struggle for Tamils’ self-determination and sought a separate state. 

   It led to the creation of Provincial Councils, assuring a power-sharing arrangement to enable all nine provinces in the country, including Sinhala majority areas, to self-govern. Subjects such as education, health, agriculture, housing, land, and police are devolved to the provincial administrations.

   Initially, the north and eastern provinces were merged and had a North-Eastern Provincial Council, but the two were de-merged in 2007 following a Supreme Court verdict.

Significance:

To date, the 13th Amendment represents the only constitutional provision on the settlement of the long-pending Tamil question in Srilanka. 

Who wants it abolished and why?

   The influential Cabinet ministers, state ministers, high profile officials have called for the abolition of provincial councils after the new government took charge. It has been argued that in a small country the provinces could be effectively controlled by the Centre. 

   The opposition camp also includes those who are fundamentally opposed to sharing any political power with the Tamil minority. But the councils have over time also helped national parties strengthen their grassroots presence and organizational structures.

   The agreement over the years gave Sinhalese politicians at the grassroots a taste of political power, governance and financial allocations as devolution of powers to the councils was only in name as the Centre retained all financial powers. 

   Often the 13th Amendment is seen as encouraging Tamil separatism and secessionism. 

Mould your thought:

  1. What does the 19th amendment of Srilankan constitution signify? How the newly gazetted 20th amendment brings changes in it?

Approach to the answer:

  • Write why in news
  • Write the provisions of 19th amendment
  • Write about the 20th amendment
  • Conclusion
Source: The Hindu
Tags: GS-2Mains

Related Posts

Future of Open Skies Treaty

Future of Open Skies Treaty

January 21, 2021
India’s Arctic Policy

India’s Arctic Policy

January 18, 2021
Great Firewall of China

Great Firewall of China

January 16, 2021
Russia to exit Open SKies treaty

Russia to exit Open SKies treaty

January 16, 2021
FATF’s 27 action plan

FATF’s 27 action plan

January 15, 2021
India at the UN high table: as non-permanent member of UNSC

India at the UN high table: as non-permanent member of UNSC

January 13, 2021
Havana Syndrome

Havana Syndrome

January 13, 2021
The Doha Intra-Afghan Dialogue

The Doha Intra-Afghan Dialogue

January 13, 2021
Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI)

Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI)

January 13, 2021
Four Fundamental Pacts India-USA 2+2 Dialogue

Four Fundamental Pacts India-USA 2+2 Dialogue

January 12, 2021
Please login to join discussion

Browse by Category

  • Agriculture
  • Disaster Management
  • Economy
  • Environment
  • Ethics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Geography
  • Governance
  • History
  • Law & Policy
  • Opinion
  • People in News
  • Places in News
  • Science & Tech
  • Security
  • Society

Browse by Tags

AIR Big Picture GS-1 GS-2 GS-3 GS-4 Kurukshetra Mains News Paper PIB Prelims RSTV Spotlight on AIR Yojana
JournalsOfIndia

Our vision is to orient the readers to grasp the facts objectively and analyse critically. In the rush of reaching first to the readers, the websites miss the balanced opinion, which is the need of the hour. We aim to reach the readers with more crispness, preciseness and relevance. We bring the articles in UPSC way for the civil services aspirants and the Wisest Way for general readers.

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Disaster Management
  • Economy
  • Environment
  • Ethics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Geography
  • Governance
  • History
  • Law & Policy
  • Opinion
  • People in News
  • Places in News
  • Science & Tech
  • Security
  • Society

Browse by Tag

AIR Big Picture GS-1 GS-2 GS-3 GS-4 Kurukshetra Mains News Paper PIB Prelims RSTV Spotlight on AIR Yojana

Newsletter

The most important UPSC news and events of the day.

Get Journals daily newsletter on your inbox.

© 2020 JournalsOfIndia - A free initiative by Manifest Team.

  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Home
  • Prelims Snippets
  • Mains Articles
  • Economy
  • Society
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Science & Tech
  • Environment
  • Agriculture
  • History
  • Law & Policy
  • Security
  • Course Portal
  • Prelims Test Portal
No Result
View All Result

© 2020 JournalsOfIndia - A free initiative by Manifest Team.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In