Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana announced that Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has deemed several clauses in the proposed Telecom Telecommunications Amendment bill unconstitutional.
Here are the key points:
- Clause No. 8 (proposed section 9A(2)) conflicts with Article 12(1) of the constitution. The issue can be resolved by changing ‘may’ to ‘shall’ as per the Supreme Court’s determination.
- Clause No. 9 is inconsistent with Article 12(1) and requires a special majority under Article 84(2) to pass, pending amendment as per the court’s direction.
- Clause No. 12 (proposed section 17(10)) also violates Article 12(1) and necessitates a special parliamentary majority under Article 84(2), subject to amendment.
- Clauses 13, 18, 20, 33, and 35 were found unconstitutional and require a special majority of parliament for passage, per Article 84(2).
