Post enactment:

New constitution provides for challenging laws

by Manjula Fernando

The new constitution will include enabling provisions to question the validity of laws, subsequent to their enactment.

Prof. Suri Ratnapala, a Sri Lankan law professor currently contributing to Sri Lanka’s constitution- making process as a consultant, identified this as “serious progress” from the 1972 and 1978 Constitutions, with both constitutions only providing for the challenging of bills but not after their enactment.

“At present, it is not possible to question an enacted law, even if it violates the constitution itself,” Prof. Ratnapala said.

He also said the unitary nature of the State would remain, while providing for power-sharing.

He also ruled out the possibility of Sri Lanka being constitutionally identified as a secular state, adding that though Buddhism enjoys pride of place, it was non-discriminatory in design. “It is the duty of the governments to ensure absence of discrimination against all religions.” Speaking of constitutional models, Prof. Ratnapala added that there was no ‘single model constitution’ to follow. “Sri Lanka should look at various good models and draw from them.

There is no single constitution that we can simply take off the shelf and plant here. Important lessons can be derived from parliamentary democracies in the UK, Germany, Japan, Canada, New Zealand and Australia,” he said.Recognising this as a unique moment in history to create a constitution for the people with “people serving as the final arbiter,” the law professor said, adding that all signals indicated that Sri Lanka was ready to embrace a strong parliamentary democracy.

Prof. Ratnapala, a Brisbane-based law professor, was involved in the fine-tuning of both the 1972 and 1978 Constitutions.

He is an emeritus professor of public law at the University of Queensland.