Constitutional impediments in finding a viable solution to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka

Abstract

How the constitution of a nation preserves all of its communities, irrespective of caste, creed and ethnicity, should form the main concern of a plural and multi-cultural society like Sri Lanka. The failure of political leaders to grant remedies to the minority Tamil issues, created by constitutional flaws, has caused the problem of an intractable ethnic conflict in the country. The study is an attempt to probe the constitutional development of the country within the parameters of chronologically arranged historical facts. The thesis recommends certain provisions for independence of judges to act with courage, innovation and imagination so as to follow a systematic interpretation in achieving the objectives of an egalitarian plural society. In order to solve the current ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, the constitution has to undergo substantial changes despite the rigid provisions found in the incumbent 1978 constitution, which need to be examined and scrutinised. For this purpose, this thesis adopts the traditional doctrinal analysis of approach which is mainly based on library research. Using this approach, this thesis constantly refers to the provisions of the constitution itself as its main reference. Statutes and judicial decisions are referred to, to explain the provisions and other relevant matters. Secondary sources such as books, journals, magazines, articles, reports and newspapers are used to illustrate the framework of the contents of the thesis. The study also adopted an empirical approach through interviews with academics, constitutional lawyers and political leaders.