The Parliament of Sri
Lanka
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Parliament
Secretariat
The secretarial and staff
services necessary for the performance of the functions of the Parliament
under the Constitution are provided by the Office of the Secretary-General
of Parliament. It functions mainly under five departments, viz., the
Department of the Serjeant-at-Arms, the Administration Department, the
Hansard Department, the Co-ordinating Engineer's Department and the
Catering Department. The Secretary-General of Parliament, who is the head
of the permanent staff of Parliament, is appointed by the President and he
(SGP) recruits his staff with the approval of the Speaker. The
Secretary-General is assisted by a Deputy and an Assistant. The total
permanent staff of Parliament is 730 as at 1997. There are another 220
personnel servicing Parliament in ancillary services including
Electricity, Telecommunications, Rupavahini, Water Supply, Postal, Banking
etc.
The security of Parliament is
detemined by the Security Council consisting of the Speaker as Chairman
and top officials of Parliament, the Armed Forces and the Police.
Parliament has a Police Division headed by a Senior Superintendent of
Police.
The Library
Parliament has a well-equipped
Library which is exclusively used by Members of Parliament. The stock held
by the Library includes books, periodicals and newspapers of a general
nature and reference material in subject areas such as legal, political,
economic, history and social sciences. The monograph collection is nearly
12,000. Parliamentary Debates, Legal Enactment, Acts & Bills of Sri
Lanka, Government Gazettes, Parliamentary Series, Sessional Papers,
Administrative Reports and Annual Reports are some of the documents in the
preserved collection. It also has a good collection of very valuable rare
books and documents on Sri Lanka such as oaths/affirmations by Members of
Parliament, special commission reports, etc. Thus the overall collection
of the Library is about 30,000 volumes. The Library is automated. The Main
computer Server of the Local Area Network (LAN) for the Parliament Complex
is installed in the Library. The Library has access to INTERNET with an
E-mail facility. Members of Parliament collect their daily mail from the
Library.
Hansard
Hansard is the official printed
verbatim record of the Parliamentary proceedings including messages from
the President, the Speaker's Announcements, Questions, etc. The speeches
of Members of Parliament are recorded in Hansard in the language in which
they are made.
Simultaneous Interpretation
In accordance with the Standing
Orders, the Sitting of Parliament may be conducted in all three languages,
viz., Sinhala, Tamil and English. To facilitate Members who do not
understand a particular language, a speech made in that language is
simultaneously interpreted into the other two languages. Thus Members
enjoy the privilege of listening to Parliamentary speeches in the language
of their choice.
The Mace
The Mace, the symbol of
authority of Parliament, was gifted to the Ceylon House of Representatives
in 1949 by the British House of Commons. Then it was valued at 2,500
pounds. It weighs 28 pounds and measures 48 inches in length. The design
was inspired by the architecture of the ancient temples of Ceylon and the
ornamentation is based on the Lotus. The open Lotus is an emblem of
Eternity and Beauty and the closed Lotus depicts perfect peace.
The mace is composed of a staff
of ebony with ornamentation in silver, 18-carat gold and sapphires. The
base is composed of an inve
rted Lotus in silver and gold and the first
knop also includes the Lotus together with two chased gold bands. Above
that is a band of sapphires supporting a longer chased gold band, above
which is an octagonal silver knop. This in turn supports four sections in
silver and 18-carat gold still in Lotus form, representing the four
quarters of the Earth, from which hang sapphire and gold drops. Above this
is a cube on which are chased four emblems: the Sun and the Moon symbolic
of Perpetuity, the Chakra a symbol of Progress and a Bowl of Flowers
(Purna Ghata) symbolic of Prosperity. Above this is the main feature of
the Mace, a sphere of silver on which are mounted two chased Sinhalese
Lions (Sehala) with drawn sword. Above this sphere appears again the
Lotus, another band of sapphires and an octogonal polished crystal
terminal, symbolic of purity.
The Mace has remained the
symbol of authority of Parliament and, through Parliament, of the Speaker,
and as such Parliament cannot sit without the Mace. The Speaker enters and
leaves the Chamber preceded by the Serjeant-at-Arms carrying the Mace and
the Secretary-General and his Deputies. While Parliament is in session the
Mace is placed by the Serjeant-at-Arms on the bracket provided for the
purpose immediately below the table of the Secretary-General of
Parliament.
The Speaker's Chair
The Speaker's Chair, a gift of
the House of Commons of Great Britain to the Ceylon House of
Representatives, is fashioned from pure English oak, reported to be over
200 years old.
It is made from a part of a
beam of the House of Commons dislodged when it was partly destroyed during
World War II. It stands six feet high and is carved in the design of
leaves which are gilded.
It is upholstered in deep
maroon, and the Sinhala Lion (Sehala) with drawn sword is embossed in gold
on the leather under the head of the Chair.
Ceremonies
Most of the ceremonies
connected with Parliament have generally been adopted from those followed
in the British House of Commons. There are many colourful ceremonies
attached to Parliament. The most colourful is the inauguration of a new
session of Parliament when the President drives into the Parliament
Complex in an atmosphere of ceremonial grandeur and pageantry complete
with Magul Bera (Symbolic Drums) and Jayamangala Gatha (Blessings) t be
received by the Speaker and his staff in ceremonial dress. On this special
day distinguished citizens and officials are invited guests of the
Speaker. They will hear the President's Address of Parliament which spells
out in broad outline the programme of work of the Government during the
ensuring period.
Another colourful event in
parliament is the Budget Speech in which the Finance Minister unfolds his
budgetary plans of the fiscal year.
Parliamentary Sittings
Under the Standing Orders,
Parliament meets on two alternate weeks after the first and third Sunday
of each month on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. The National
Flag is flown at full mast on the Second Floor of the Parliament Building
facing the Ceremonial Drive to signify that Parliament is sitting. It the
meeting goes on beyond 6 p.m. (which s considered standards sunset time
after which the National Flag is not allowed to remain hoisted), a
lantern, amber in colour, atop the flagstaff shines in place of the
National Flag to indicate that Parliament is still at work.
Business of Parliament
The business of Parliament is
conducted according to the Standing Orders of the Parliament in the
following order:
- Official Oath or Affirmation by new
Member. (This is administered by the Secretary-General of Parliament.
- Messages from the President
- Announcements by Mr. Speaker.
- Presentation of Papers (This can be done
only by the Speaker, a Minister or a Deputy Minister).
- Presentation of Reports from Committees.
- Petitions
- Questions
- Votes of Condolence
- Motions of Leave of Absence
- Ministerial Statements
- Personal Explanations
- Questions of Privilege (An urgent motion
concerning the privileges of Parliament takes Precedence over all
other motions and Orders of the Day and proceedings may be interrupted
at any time for this purpose).
- Motions at the commencement of Public
Business not requiring notice.
- Motions at the commencement of Public
Business ofr which notice is required.
- Public Business.
Parliamentry Symbols
The Mace
The Mace, the symbol of authority of Parliament, was gifted to the
Ceylon House of Representatives in 1949 by the British House of
Commons. Then it was valued at 2,500 pounds. It weighs 28 pounds and
measures 48 inches in length. The design was inspired by the
architecture of the ancient temples of Ceylon and the ornamentation is
based on the Lotus. The open Lotus is an emblem of Eternity and Beauty
and the closed Lotus depicts perfect peace.
The mace is composed of a staff of ebony with ornamentation in silver,
18-carat gold and sapphires. The base is composed of an inverted Lotus
in silver and gold and the first knop also includes the Lotus together
with two chased gold bands. Above that is a band of sapphires
supporting a longer chased gold band, above which is an octagonal
silver knop. This in turn supports four sections in silver and
18-carat gold still in Lotus form, representing the four quarters of
the Earth, from which hang sapphire and gold drops. Above this is a
cube on which are chased four emblems: the Sun and the Moon symbolic
of Perpetuity, the Chakra a symbol of Progress and a Bowl of Flowers (Purna
Ghata) symbolic of Prosperity. Above this is the main feature of the
Mace, a sphere of silver on which are mounted two chased Sinhalese
Lions (Sehala) with drawn sword. Above this sphere appears again the
Lotus, another band of sapphires and an octogonal polished crystal
terminal, symbolic of purity.
The Mace has remained the symbol of authority of Parliament and,
through Parliament, of the Speaker, and as such Parliament cannot sit
without the Mace. The Speaker enters and leaves the Chamber preceded
by the Serjeant-at-Arms carrying the Mace and the Secretary-General
and his Deputies. While Parliament is in session the Mace is placed by
the Serjeant-at-Arms on the bracket provided for the purpose
immediately below the table of the Secretary-General of Parliament.
Hansard
Hansard is the official printed verbatim record of the Parliamentary
proceedings including messages from the President, the Speaker's
Announcements, Questions, etc. The speeches of Members of Parliament
are recorded in Hansard in the language in which they are made.
The Speaker's Chair
The Speaker's Chair, a gift of the House of Commons of Great Britain
to the Ceylon House of Representatives, is fashioned from pure English
oak, reported to be over 200 years old.
It is made from a part of a beam of the House of Commons dislodged
when it was partly destroyed during World War II. It stands six feet
high and is carved in the design of leaves which are gilded.
It is upholstered in deep maroon, and the Sinhala Lion (Sehala) with
drawn sword is embossed in gold on the leather under the head of the
Chair.
Ceremonies
Most of the ceremonies connected with Parliament have generally been
adopted from those followed in the British House of Commons. There are
many colourful ceremonies attached to Parliament. The most colourful
is the inauguration of a new session of Parliament when the President
drives into the Parliament Complex in an atmosphere of ceremonial
grandeur and pageantry complete with Magul Bera (Symbolic Drums) and
Jayamangala Gatha (Blessings) t be received by the Speaker and his
staff in ceremonial dress. On this special day distinguished citizens
and officials are invited guests of the Speaker. They will hear the
President's Address of Parliament which spells out in broad outline
the programme of work of the Government during the ensuring period.
Another colourful event in parliament is the Budget Speech in which
the Finance Minister unfolds his budgetary plans of the fiscal year.
source : PIRU.GOV.LK
