Even as post-war reconstruction and the healing of the wounds of hundreds of thousands of refugees must take priority, the discussions around the future of power-sharing between the Centre and provinces must not be allowed to cool.
The defeat of the LTTE as a military force has not made the ethnic question in Sri Lanka go away. If anything, the need for a political solution has become ever more urgent. The euphoria over the military victory must not allow the debate on power sharing and devolution to die. While these discussions take place, it is useful to go back to power-sharing arrangements already in place, and examine where they fall short.
The 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka, passed in 1987, introduced Provincial Councils with legislative and executive powers within a unitary state. There are three lists of subjects and functions – the Reserved List, the Provincial Council List and the Concurrent List. A Provincial Council (PC) has no power to make statutes on any matter set out in the Reserved List. A PC statute on a matter in the PC List makes a pre-1987 parliamentary law on the same matter inoperative in the province if the statute states in its long title that the statute is inconsistent with such law. However, the legislative power of a PC in regard to a matter in the PC List is not exclusive; Parliament too can legislate on such matters. A parliamentary bill on a PC matter must be referred to all PCs for the expression of their views. If all agree, Parliament can pass the bill with a simple majority. If one or more PCs do not agree, and the bill is passed by only a simple majority, then the bill would become law applicable only to those provinces that agreed. But if the bill is passed by a two-thirds majority, then the law would apply even in the provinces that did not agree.
As for matters in the Concurrent List, Parliament needs to consult PCs before it takes up a bill and a PC must also do the same. In the event of inconsistency, the parliamentary law shall prevail. However, a PC statute on such a matter would make a pre-1987 law on the subject inoperative unless Parliament decides otherwise.