1947 Solbari andukramaye wyawasthadayakaya

1947 The executive established under the Soulbry Constitution was a cabinet executive. The Cabinet of
Ministers was the central institution of government. It was headed by the Prime Minister who was
an MP commanding the confidence and support of the majority of MPs. The position of PM
usually went to the leader of the party which had won the majority in parliament. In case there was
no party with a majority in parliament, the Governor General had the power to appoint the PM.
The Prime Minister thus appointed was required to prove his/her majority support in parliament.
The Prime Minister also had the responsibility of advising the Governor General on summoning
and dissolving of parliament.
The Constitution did not stipulate the number of members of the Cabinet. It left to the decision of
the PM. The Constitution also mentioned that in addition to his normal function, the PM should
hold the foreign and defence portfolios. The Minister of Justice had to be a member of the Senate.
According to Section 46 of the Soulbury Constitution, the Cabinet of Ministers was in charge of
the “general direction and control of the government.” The Cabinet had the responsibility to
decide the government policy. Cabinet decisions were implemented through the public service.
The Cabinet was also collectively responsible to parliament.
Under the 1972 Constitution too, the Cabinet of Ministers was the political executive. The PM
was the MP who commended the confidence of the majority of members of parliament. It was the
PM’s responsibility to determine the ministries, the number of ministers, and the allocation of
subjects and departments among ministers. The PM also had the power to re-allocate subjects
among ministers as well as remove them from the Cabinet.
The 1972 Constitution abolished the independent Public Service Commission and brought the
public service under the control of the Cabinet of Ministers. A new State Services Advisory Board
was established, with only power to recommend public officers for appointment. The Cabinet of
Ministers was the authority in appointments to the public service. This was a departure from the
Soulbury Constitution.
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8.4 Minority Rights
The Soulbury Constitution had a number of provisions to protect minority rights.
• Section 29 (2) of the Constitution was a major safeguard for minority rights. It sought to
prevent parliament from enacting laws discriminatory of religious or linguistic minorities. Thus,
no law passed by parliament could
(a) Prohibit or restrict the free exercise of any religion.
(b) Impose any religion or community restrictions, liabilities or disabilities which are not
applicable to any other religion or community.
(c) Confer any privileges or advantages to any religion or community that are not applicable
to other religions or communities.
(d) Alter the constitution of any religious body without the consent of the authorities of
that body.
• Multi-Member Constituencies
This system enabled representation for small communities in certain districts to get
parliamentary representation. The Delimitation Commission of 1946 determined the
electorates of Badulla, Balangoda, Kadugannawa, Ambalangoda, Balapitiya and ColomboCentral as multi-member constituencies. However, this system did not work satisfactorily
to protect minority rights.
• The System of Nominated MPs
This was introduced to enable the representation of small minorities such as Europeans,
Burghers and Muslims. The Governor General appointed them on the advise of the Prime
Minister. However, this system too did not function satisfactorily to safeguard minority
rights.
• Senate
The Soulbury Commission thought the Senate would also function as a mechanism
safeguarding the minority rights by minority members being appointed as Senators.
However, in nominating Senators, the PM took into consideration not only the ethnic
background of Senators, but also their loyalty to the ruling party and its policies. This
resulted in the Senate too failing to play its role in safeguarding minority interests.
8. 5 Public Service and the Judiciary
The Soulbury Constitution entrusted the Cabinet of Ministers with the responsibility of the public
service. Each minister was in charge of the functioning of departments under his/her ministry. A
Permanent Secretary, appointed by the Governor General on the recommendations of the Prime
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Minister, assisted the minister in running departments under each ministry. The Permanent Secretary
functioned under the directions of the Minister. The Permanent Secretary coordinated between
the Minster and the departments and between departments.
Meanwhile, a special feature of the Soulbury Constitution was the provisions made for safeguarding
the independence of the public service. Accordingly, an independent Public Service Commission
was established charged with the function of appointment, transfer, removal, and disciplinary control
of public servants.