GSP Plus facility:

Govt rejects Constitutional changes

Uditha Kumarasinghe, Irangika Range and Sandasen Marasinghe

KOTTE: Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka told Parliament yesterday that the Republican character of Sri Lanka would be changed and the sovereignty of the people affected if Constitutional amendments were made as proposed by Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to retain the GSP+ facility.

The Prime Minister asserted that the Government would not approve adopting any Constitutional change as proposed by the Opposition Leader, that would make Sri Lanka subservient to whomsoever. The Prime Minister stated that if the amendments were adopted to the Constitution the country would lose its sovereignty and become subordinate to international law.

The Prime Minister made these observations in response to a special statement made by Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe in Parliament. Prime Minister Wickramanayaka also said the legal position relating to the relationship between International Law and Sri Lankan Law

did not change as a result of the judgement of the Supreme Court in the case of Nallaratnam Singarasa vs The Attorney General. This is because in view of the Constitution of this country and the legal and legislative practice adopted by this House, Sri Lanka has always entertained a dualist legal regime pertaining to the relationship between International Law and Sri Lankan Law.

Notwithstanding Sri Lanka becoming a party to an international legal instrument such as a Convention, it was always necessary for the national legislature which is this Parliament to enact enabling or implementing legislation to give legal and domestic effect to our obligations and rights under international law.

The Prime Minister also said that it was never the accepted position of this Parliament, that with Sri Lanka becoming a Party to an international legal instrument such as a Convention or a Treaty, the principles and legal norms contained in that piece of international law would automatically become a part of our national law.

He said: “That is because, it is evident that Sri Lanka does not have a monist legal regime in so far as international law is concerned.

In countries that have a monist legal regime, there is specific provision in the Constitutions of such countries, that specifically state that upon the competent authorities of such countries entering into a Convention or a Treaty and thereby becoming a State Party to such international legal instrument or acceding to such a Convention, provisions of such Convention are deemed to have automatically become part of the body of national law.

We do not have such a Constitutional arrangement.

Therefore, as the national legislature, we should fully concur with the statement of the law as contained in the Singarasa judgment of the Supreme Court. Of course, our Supreme Court has held that when interpreting national laws, that courts should take into consideration and where possible interpret Sri Lankan laws in a manner that would bring them on conformity with international legal norms accepted by Sri Lanka.

This is sound practice and is not evidence of Sri Lanka having ever been a country that had a monist regime. Prime Minister Wickramanayaka also said that as regards this point raised pertaining to the grant of the GSP+ facility by the European Commission, he is advised that on a consideration of the national laws which are relevant to the 27 International Conventions which the European Commission is interested in, the European Commission is satisfied regarding the status and the scope of the relevant national legislation.

Their current concern appears to be regarding ‘effective implementation’ of Sri Lanka’s obligations under several international Conventions.

The European Commission has identified three pieces of international law namely the international Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Convention Against Torture and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as being international laws in respect of which they are interested in ascertaining whether Sri Lanka effectively implements its obligations.

Therefore, even the European Commission is not suggesting that we adopt the practice being suggested by the Leader of the Opposition.

What we are required to do is to satisfy the European Commission that in Sri Lanka there is effective implantation of our obligations under these three international conventions.

We have already informed the European Commission that we will not subject ourselves to an ‘Investigation’ as specified by the European Commission in its Rules on the grant of GSP+. That would be a direct affront on our sovereignty and self-respect as a free nation.

However, at a diplomatic level we are prepared to share with the European Commission any relevant information that would enable us to satisfy the European Commission that there is indeed effective implementation of our international legal obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Convention Against Torture and the Child Rights Convention. The Prime Minister also stated that the Leader of the Opposition has proposed several amendments to be introduced to the Constitution that would in effect change Sri Lanka from a country that has a dualist regime to a monist regime. That means, if those proposed amendments to the Constitution are adopted by this House, whenever Sri Lanka becomes a Party to a Convention or a Treaty or Accedes to one, the legal norms contained in such piece of international law would automatically become part of national law without any further legislative act being performed in the nature of enacting new national laws or amending existing national law.

This would be an improper interference with the sovereignty of the people of Sri Lanka as recognised by Article 3 and 4 of the Constitution.

By such a change of the Constitution, the very republican character of our country would be changed.

“On behalf of the Government, I wish to state that, the Government does not approve of the Constitutional amendments being proposed by the Leader of the Opposition.

I am sure that no Honourable Member of this August Assembly would approve of adopting any Constitutional change, that would make Sri Lanka subservient to whomsoever,” the Prime Minister stated.