Wednesday, Oct 23, 2002
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By V. S. Sambandan
In a unanimous 27-page ruling on the proposed 19th amendment, the court struck down a crucial clause that would have given immunity to cross-voters and said that if the Government wanted to curb the President's dissolution powers, it would have to win popular approval at a referendum, as the exercise was against the basic structure of the Constitution. The seven-member Bench, which heard 24 petitions, ruled that in three of the four existing constitutional provisions, "the final say'' in dissolving Parliament was vested with the President. The only way in which Parliament could "enforce a dissolution by the President'' was "through the oblique means of rejecting the budget twice,'' it said. The verdict, communicated to Parliament by the Speaker, puts a brake on the Government's attempts to restrain the President from exercising her constitutional power to dissolve the House a year after the last general elections. As a political move, the UNF had also hoped to get Parliament to dissolve itself and call for fresh elections, as it wanted to seek a popular mandate whenever it was politically comfortable. By reiterating the primacy of the Executive President, the Supreme Court's pronouncement rules out these options for the UNF. Despite a written assurance from Ms. Kumaratunga that she would not dissolve Parliament, the UNF introduced the Bill on September 19. The amendment said that a President, who was not a member of the ruling party, "shall not'' dissolve Parliament after it completes a year, unless a resolution was passed by a two-thirds majority (including those not present). The Supreme Court said this "moves in the opposite direction'' of the Constitution. Dissolution was "a component of the executive power'' of the President and "cannot be alienated in the sense of being transferred, relinquished or removed from where it lies.'' The court struck down the immunity clause — the political backbone of the amendment because it encouraged the crucial cross-voting required by the UNF — as one that "suspends the operation of a part of the Constitution.'' It "cannot be validly enacted by Parliament'' and "has to be deleted from the Bill.'' The Opposition was happy that this clause was struck down.
`Victory for democracy'
In their reaction, the President's office and the People's Alliance welcomed the verdict, while the UNF said it would consider the options ahead. "The highest judicial body has studied attempts to tinker with the Constitution and deemed that you cannot chip away the powers bestowed on the President,'' a senior presidential aide said. The Leader of the Opposition, Mahinda Rajapakse, termed it as a "defeat for the Government.'' However, the Constitutional Affairs Minister, G. L. Peiris, would not concede defeat. "It should not be seen as either a victory or defeat for any side. We will now explore the political options ahead.'' Anura Bandaranaike, a senior PA leader, termed the verdict as a "big defeat for the Government'' and said it was of "utmost importance'' that the UNF co-operated with the PA and the President. Mr. Bandaranaike, Ms. Kumaratunga's brother, said that he did not expect elections in the near future adding that the President "will not dissolve Parliament'' now. Raja Collure, leader of the Communist Party, saw the verdict as a "defeat for the Government, which tried to artificially increase its majority from a simple to a two-thirds, and thereby weaken the Opposition.'' The Opposition Whip, Mangala Samaraweera, said it was a "victory for democracy'' .
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