2023-04-18
News Categories : Committee News
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on justice, Prisons Affairs and Constitutional Reforms took into consideration as to why the Law Entrance Examination, which has been prepared by the Department of Examination thus far, is being prepared by the Law College this time. Accordingly, Hon. (Dr.) Wijayadasa Rajapakshe stated that he shall write to the Council of Legal Education inquiring regarding the matter.
The aforesaid was stated at the Ministerial Consultative Committee which met in Parliament recently Chaired by the Minister of Justice, Prisons Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Hon. (Dr) Wijayadasa Rajapakshe in Parliament.
Order made by the Minister of Justice, Prisons Affairs and Constitutional Reforms under Section 7 (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Special Provisions) Act, no 2 of 2013, and published in the Gazette Extraordinary No. 2317/28 of the 30th January 2023 presented to Parliament on 21.02.2023 and six Annual Reports were considered and approved at the Committee.
Moreover, matters arising due to the Rules made by the Council of Legal Education under Section 7 of the Incorporated Council of Legal Education Ordinance (Chapter 276) and published in the Gazette Extraordinary No. 2208/13 of 30th December 2020 being disapproved by a majority of votes in Parliament was also taken in to consideration.
Accordingly, concerns were raised given that though the said Gazette inclusive of proposals to conduct exams at the Sri Lanka Law College in the English Medium was defeated in Parliament, the other proposals included in the same Gazette being defeated along with it.
The Committee further pointed out that it is a great injustice to the students who are scheduled to sit for their exams at the end of April as a consequence of inconsiderate decisions by the Law College.
Also, Committee Members requested to look into the possibility of giving an opportunity for the students to apply for the exams who did not apply due to the said rule of conducting exams only in English Medium and they were also of the view considerable time should be given them to prepare.
Minister of justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms, Hon. (Dr.) Wijayadasa Rajapakshe mentioned that in terms of the Incorporated Council of Legal Education Ordinance even though the Minister has the authority to give the policy direction, the decisions regarding the studies are taken by the Council of Legal Education which function as an independent body. However, considering the requests made, the hon. minister stated that he shall request from the Council of Legal Education to accommodate the students to apply for the coming exams who refrained from applying due to the aforementioned rules.
Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Sajith Premadasa, State Ministers Hon. Anuradha Jayaratne, Hon. Sisira Jayakody, Hon. Ashoka Priyantha Members of Parliament Hon. Rauff Hakeem, Hon. M. A. Sumanthiran, Hon.Chamdima Weerakkody, Hon. Premalal jayasekara, Hon. Charles Nirmalanathan, Hon. Asanka nawarathne, Hon. Weerasumana Weerasinghe, Hon. Gevindu Cumaratunga, Hon. Premnath C. Dolowatte, Hon. (Prof.) Charith Herath, Hon. (Dr.) Upul Galappaththi, were present at the Committee meeting held.
2026-06-19
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Environment focused its attention on the issue of water pollution in the Kelani River when it met in Parliament recently (10th June) under the chairmanship of the Hon. Minister of Environment, Dr. Dammika Patabendi.During the meeting, the Committee was briefed on the progress of discussions being held with companies that have expressed willingness to invest in a project aimed at cleaning the waters of the Kelani River.The Committee also discussed a number of proposals and other issues raised by Hon. Members of Parliament.The meeting was attended by Hon. Members of Parliament and officials.
2026-06-18
A meeting of the Women Parliamentarians Caucus was held in Parliament recently to discuss the importance of incorporating Gender-Responsive Budgeting into Sri Lanka’s national budget formulation process and to examine the challenges associated with its implementation.The meeting was chaired by the Chairperson of the Caucus and Hon. Minister of Women and Child Affairs, Saroja Savithri Paulraj. Hon. Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya also participated in the discussion.A key concern raised during the discussion was the lack of adequate data and indicators to accurately assess and measure women’s economic contributions within the budgetary process. Drawing on examples of approaches adopted in India and other countries, members of the Caucus underscored the need to identify and address existing systemic and technical gaps in Sri Lanka’s budgeting framework.The Caucus also emphasized the importance of disaggregating data by gender in project reporting and strengthening digital data management systems to support such efforts. It was further noted that identifying relevant gender-related considerations at the initial stages of project design and implementation at the ministerial level would facilitate more effective project analysis, monitoring, and evaluation of outcomes.The need to move away from existing traditional and time-consuming methods towards formal online systems and data-driven analytical tools was also emphasized.The current progress and challenges in integrating Gender-Responsive Budgeting into Sri Lanka’s public financial policy were discussed in detail during the meeting.It was also emphasized that such budgeting should not be limited to nominal percentages in documents, but that the need to establish a formal framework and data system to ensure it has a real and practical impact was also highlighted.The Hon.Deputy Chairperson of Committees Hemalee Weerasekera, Hon. Deputy Minister Dr. Kaushalya Ariyarathne, Co-Vice Chairpersons of the Caucus, Hon. Members of Parliament Chamindrani Kiriella, Attorney at Law and Samanmalee Gunasinghe, Hon. Members of Parliament Thushari Jayasinghe, Attorney at Law, Krishnan Kaleichelvi, Sagarika Athauda ,Attorney at Law, Nilanthi Kottahachchi, Attorney at Law, Ambika Samivel and Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney at Law, along with a group of officials from the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, also participated in the event.
2026-06-17
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government met recently (Jun. 12) at Parliament under the chairmanship of the Hon. Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government, Prof. A.H.M.H. Abayarathna.During the meeting, Members of Parliament discussed a range of issues and proposals relating to their respective electorates, as well as several other matters of public importance.Hon. Members of Parliament and officials were present at the meeting.
2026-06-17
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs met recently (Jun. 09) at Parliament under the chairmanship of the Hon. Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Dr. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi.During the meeting, Members of Parliament discussed a number of proposals and issues, including reviewing the progress of discussions initiated with the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education and the Department of Examinations regarding the formulation of regulations to prevent the conduct of private tuition classes on Sunday mornings, thereby facilitating the holding of Dhamma School classes on Sundays.The meeting was attended by Hon. Deputy Ministers, Hon. Members of Parliament and officials.
Handbook of Parliament
The System of Elections in Sri Lanka
How Parliament Works
Business of Parliament
Copyright © The Parliament of Sri Lanka.
All Rights Reserved.
Design & Developed by TekGeeks
