Won the “War” but Lost the Law
Calling a civil conflict or a civil war, a war itself, is very misleading. Wars are fought with external enemies. However, civil conflict or a civil war is a fight that takes…
Constitutional Reform
A Submission on the Making of a New Constitution
Photo courtesy of Newsfirst This submission is made on the assumption that the attempt to make a new constitution is an act done in good faith, motivated solely by the attempt to…
A Proposal for a New Chapter on Fundamental Rights and Freedoms in the Constitution
Photo courtesy of ConstitutionNet This proposal for a new Chapter on Fundamental Rights and Freedoms in a future constitution was prepared in response to the public invitation to submit proposals to the…
Nonsense Upon Stilts? Revisiting Justifications of Presidentialism In Sri Lanka
Photo Courtesy of Daily News With the enactment of the Twentieth Amendment, Sri Lanka embarks yet again down the fraught path of authoritarian presidentialism. Whether this latest adventure ends in a democratic…
A Constitution for a Third Republic? Time to Imagine a Better Republic for Sri Lanka
Photo courtesy of Eurasia Review The government has taken steps to draft a new constitution for Sri Lanka, which is likely to replace the existing constitution in toto, including its recently passed…
Sri Lanka: Rising Autocracy and Historical Experiences
Photo courtesy of The New York Times S. P. Huntington has presciently warned that democratic transitions are vulnerable and reversible if ruling elites do not show genuine commitment to democratic values. He…
Frames of Power: Site enhancements
Building on the award-winning Corridors of Power project, Frames of Power is a pioneering, non-partisan initiative for citizens to interactively model perceptions of political authority and approaches to constitutional power. The production…
Reform the Proposed 20th Amendment to Strengthen, Not Weaken, Transparency and Public Oversight
Photo Courtesy of AP News Following parliamentary elections, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa wasted no time in obtaining cabinet approval and thereafter gazetting the proposed 20th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. …
The 20A: A Very Wrong Approach to Constitution-Making
Photo Courtesy of Midday The proposed 20th Amendment has several major defects. One of its key faults is that its sponsors and framers have chosen a very wrong approach to constitution making….
Sri Lanka and the UN: Retreating from Human Rights and Democracy
Concern is growing, at home and internationally, about increasing unwillingness among leaders – especially the president – to accept checks on the power exercised over the people of Sri Lanka. “I am…
The Fearful President
Photo Courtesy of City News “If you think this has a happy ending, you haven’t been paying attention.” — Ramsay, Game of Thrones Articles penned on Groundviews recently by Jayadeva Uyangoda, Asanga…
20A is a Political Blunder
Photo Courtesy of Lakpura Déjà vu? Once upon a time, a mighty government with a two-thirds majority in parliament engaged in political opportunism, and radically changed the constitution of Sri Lanka. It…
Some Reflections on the Twentieth Amendment Bill
Photo courtesy of Blue Lanka Tours As the Twentieth Amendment Bill is brought before Parliament – and challenged in the Supreme Court – there are two critical sets of questions we need…
Judges, Civil Society and Opposition Push Back Against 20th Amendment
Photo courtesy of Sri Lanka Brief The Rajapakse Administration, by Government gazette, published its proposed 20th Amendment to Sri Lanka’s Constitution and subsequently the Secretary General of Parliament announced that it would…
And Then They Ruled Happily Ever After?
Photo courtesy of Twitter “If history is continuity and discontinuity, resolution and catastrophe, it is also surprise and unanimity; a total fascist state that in January 1933 was highly contested and rather…
