SOULBURY CONSTITUTION

Throughout the period when the Donoughmore Constitution was in operation there was continual agitation for its reform from different quarters.

The real movement for reform of this constitution started with so called "Perera Resolutions" which were moved by Mr. E.W.Perera, a private member. These Resolutions dealt among other questions, with the Governors powers, the three Officers of the State and the Executive Committee system.

A series of discussions took place between the Governor and the Ministers and the Ministers set out their position in two memoranda in 1933.

The Ministers advocated the following changes in the Constitution.

1. Abolition of three Officers of State
2. Reduction of the special Powers of the Governor
3. Change in the election of ministers
4. Removal of the limitation on the Council over finance
5. A change in the Constitution to secure a greater control over Public Service

On the 25th of November 1937 the Secretary of State for Colonies addressed a communication to then Governor Sir Andrew Caldecott, requesting him to investigate the political situation and submit any recommendations that he might wish to make.

After receiving number of deputations, the Governor sent his recommendations in a Dispatch dated 13th of June 1938. In his Dispatch the Governor rejected the proposal to restrict the franchise. He also opposed all forms of fractional representation on race basis. He advocated the abolition of Executive Committees and the Board of Ministers and suggested that their functions could be entrusted to a Cabinet.

On the 26th of May 1943 a solemn Declaration was made by His Majesty's (HM's) Government that the post war re-examination of the reforms of the Ceylon Constitution would be directed towards the grant of full responsible Government under the Crown. The Declaration invited the ministers to submit proposals for a New Constitution. The Ministers completed their draft constitutional scheme in 1944, but later withdrew it due to difference of opinion with HM's Government.

discuss any proposals for constitutional reform after consultations with various interested parties in the Island, including minorities.

Main recommendations of the Soulbury Commission were as follows.

1. The Executive Government would consist of a Governor General with the Reserve Powers set out in the 1943 Declaration.

2. The Legislature would consist of the Governor General and the two Houses called The Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate would consist of 30 members, of whom 15 would be elected by the House of Representatives and 15 Nominated by the Governor General.

The House of Representatives would consist of 95 members elected on Universal Suffrage with six members nominated by the Governor General.

3. The Cabinet of Ministers will be responsible to the Legislature. The Prime Minister would be appointed by the Governor General and would hold the portfolios of External Affairs and Defense.

4. The powers of appointment, promotion, transfer, dismissal and disciplinary control of          public officers would be vested in the Public Service Commission.

5. There would be a Judiciary in which the Chief Justice and Judges of the Supreme Court would be appointed by the Governor General, with a Judicial Service Commission in which powers would be vested for appointment, promotion, transfer, dismissal and disciplinary control of all judicial officers.

6. Apart from the proposals for a second chamber and for the Public Service Commission, what was claimed as further safeguard for minority communities was recommended by the Soulbury Commission.

Mr.D.S.Senanayake, as the leader of the State Council, had earlier been summoned to London to state the case for the Board of Ministers. Mr.Senanayake ignored the Declaration of 1943 with all its limitations and made out a claim for Dominion Status. Anyhow the Colonial authorities felt that it was too early yet to make any decision on Dominion Status.

By 1947 it appeared fairly clear that India was well on the way to independence. Mr.D.S.Senanayake made a further claim for Dominion Status. In June 1947 the Secretary of State made an announcement that as soon as a new government had assumed office under the new constitution; His Majesty's Government would conduct negotiations with it, with a view to grant Dominion Status for Ceylon.

The General Elections under the new constitution were held in the latter part of 1947.

obtaining complete independence for this country. On the 11th of November 1947, relevant agreements were signed and Ceylon passed from colonial status to that of a fully independent country.

According to the Memorandum of the Prime Minister which was published on the 14th of November 1947 five documents brought about this change of status.

1 Ceylon Independence Act 1947
2 Ceylon Independence Order in Council 1947
3 The Defense Agreement
4 The External Affairs Agreement
5 Public Officers Agreement.

The Governor was replaced by the Governor General. He no longer represented the Government of the United Kingdom. He only represented the British Monarch.

Minority interests

Provisions listed below were introduced by the Soulbury Commissioners to safeguard the interests of the minorities.

• It provided that delimitation commission appointed to demarcate electorates should take into consideration, inter alia the concentration of people united by community, race, religion or otherwise differing from the majority when creating electorates.
  
  
• The Soulbury commissioners also recommended the creation of multi-member constituencies in appropriate areas so it would enable minority communities, if they were sufficiently united, to concentrate all their votes on any one candidate seeking to represent their interests and thus secure the election of such a representative to Parliament
  
  
• The interests of the minorities who have not been able to secure any representation in the Parliament by way of elections were further protected by the appointment of six members to the House
  
  
• Section 29(2) of the Constitution was designed to meet the fears of some of the minority leaders that there would be discrimination according to race and religion.
  
  

It provided that no Law enacted by the Ceylon Parliament shall,

• Prohibit or restrict the free exercise of any religion or
  
  
• Make persons of any community or religion liable to disabilities or restrictions to which persons of other communities or religions are not made liable or,
  
  
• Confer on persons of any community or religion any privilege or advantage which  is not conferred on persons of other communities or religions or
  
  
• Alter the constitution of any religious body except with consent of the governing authority of that body.
  
  

Laws which infringe section 29(2) of the constitution are   declared by section 29(3) to be void and therefore be declared to be void by any court in the Island.

Towards revision of the Soulbury Constitution

In July 1956 Mr. Bandaranaike, as Prime Minister informed the other Governments of the Commonwealth, of Ceylon's intention to become a Republic, while remaining a member of the Commonwealth.

Even after the death of Mr. Bandaranaike there was general agreement among all political parties that Ceylon should become a Republic.
 Two institutions of government that had been under severe attack by critics of the Constitution were the Senate and the Public Service Commission.

Though the Senate was expected to be a revising chamber, according to its critics it had to a large extent failed to perform the functions generally associated with a non-party revising chamber. From the inception it was clear that members to the Senate were selected not so much on the basis of merit but on the service rendered to the party in power.

Under the Soulbury Constitution the appointment, transfer, dismissal and disciplinary control of public officers were vested in the Public Service Commission. The difficulty that had arisen was mainly due to the Public Servant controlled by an independent body were made to work under a government which worked on the principle of ministerial responsibility.

There had also been criticism of the Public Service Commission that it yielded to ministerial and political pressure, applied by successive governments in power.

First Republican Constitution

Before the General Election of 27th May 1970 the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), and the Communist Party (CP) entered into an electoral agreement and issued a joint election manifesto, which stated

"We seek your mandate to permit the members of Parliament you elect to function simultaneously as a Constitutional Assembly to draft, adopt and operate a New Constitution.

This constitution will declare Ceylon to be a free sovereign and Independent Republic pledged to realize the objectives of a socialist democracy and it will also secure fundamental rights and freedoms to all citizens.

At the election the parties forming the United Front won a sweeping victory with 91 seats for the
Sri Lanka Freedom Party, 19 for the Lanka Sama Samaja Party and 06 for the Communist Party,
Collectively obtaining 115 seats.

July, 1970 at the Navarangahala, Colombo, for the purpose of considering and adopting a resolution constituting themselves "The constitutional Assembly of the People of Sri Lanka".

In the address by His Excellency the Governor General at the opening of the First session of the seventh Parliament of Ceylon on the 14th day of June 1970 stated, inter alia, " By their vote democratically cast the People have given you a clear mandate to function as a Constituent Assembly to draft, adopt and operate a new constitution which declare Ceylon to be a free sovereign and independent Republic pledged to realize the objectives of a Socialist Democracy including securing of the fundamental rights and freedoms of all citizens. in terms of this mandate, my government calls upon you to draft and adopt a new constitution which will, become the Fundamental Law of this country superseding both the existing constitution in  the drafting of which the people of Sri Lanka had no share and also other Laws that may conflict with the New Constitution you will adopt.

Accordingly the Members of the House of Representatives et at the Navarangahala, Colombo on the 19th of July 1970 declaring and proclaiming themselves the Constituent Assembly of the People of Sri Lanka, for the purpose of adopting enacting and establishing a constitution for Sri Lanka which will  declare Sri Lanka to be a free sovereign and Independent Republic.
The Constituent Assembly adjourned on the 10th of July 1971 in order that a draft Constitution
might be prepared. The draft Constitution was published in the Ceylon Government Gazette on the 29th of December as a Government Notification.

On the 22nd May 1972 the Prime Minister Mrs. Bandaranaike moved that the Draft Constitution prepared under the provisions of standing order No.23 and presented this day by the Minister of Constitutional Affairs be adopted as the Constitution of the Free, Sovereign and Independent people of Sri Lanka.

The members of the Constituent Assembly who met at the Navarangahala on the same day certified the adoption and enactment of the New Constitution. With the certification of its adoption the members of the Constitutional Assembly became members of the National State Assembly in terms of section 42 of the Constitution.

On the certification of its adoption by the Constituent assembly, the Republican Constitution came into operation. Mr. William Gopallawa was nominated the first President of the Republic.

Autochthony

The framers of the constitution, while providing for a Republic, wanted an "autochthonous" or home grown constitution, though the word 'autochthony' has not been used. The main focus of this procedure was to affect a legal revolution and break in legal continuity with the previous order. This constitution was intended by its framers to owe its force of Law entirely to the People of Sri Lanka and not to be derived by the previous Constitution. The method adopted to create such constitution was its enactment by a Constituent Assembly deriving its power and authority from the people.