Mr. Speaker [The Hon. (Dr.) Jagath Wickramaratne]

¶ 01 ANNOUNCEMENTS

¶ 02 Representation of Opposition in Committees of Parliament

¶ 03 As per the requests made by Hon. (Dr.) Pathmanathan Sathiyalingam, Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara, Attorney-at-Law, Hon. Ajith P. Perera, Hon. Ravi Karunanayake, Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC, and Hon. V.S. Radhakrishnan on 03rd February, 2025 regarding an alleged breach of Privilege of Members of Parliament in allocating seats of Committees of Parliament disproportionately to the Opposition, I, as the Speaker of Parliament, carried out a study and decided to disclose my stance to this august Assembly as promised on 05th February, 2025.

¶ 04 I would like to enumerate my decision as follows:

¶ 05 1. Since I am the custodian of this august Assembly which represents both the Government and the Opposition, I always maintain my impartiality in carrying out the Business of Parliament.

¶ 06 2. In accordance with the Parliament (Powers and Privileges) Act, no breach of Privilege has been committed since no particular clause of that Act clearly emphasizes the matter raised regarding Committee representation.

¶ 07 Considering the fact that in previous Parliaments — the 7th, 8th and 9th — both the Government and the Opposition agreed to increase the number of Members on Committees beyond Standing Orders through compromise, I further observe that in this 10th Parliament the number of seats in some Committees, especially the Committee on Parliamentary Business and the Ministerial Consultative Committees, has been increased with the concurrence of both sides.

¶ 08 The book “Practice and Procedure of Parliament with particular reference to the Lok Sabha” by M.N. Kaul and S.L. Shakdher states that “A Parliamentary Committee is appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker”, and that appointment, term of office, functions and procedure are regulated under the rules and directions of the Speaker. Therefore, the Speaker must follow the Standing Orders in forming Committees.

¶ 09 Page 775 of the book explains that Members are appointed or elected to a Parliamentary Committee by the House on a Motion made and adopted or nominated by the Speaker, who must adhere to written rules to maintain neutrality and impartiality. Page 776 adds that “Members to specified Parliamentary Committees may be nominated by the Speaker after consultation with the Leader of the House and the Leaders of the Opposition parties and groups in the House”. Therefore, it is up to the House to reach a compromise after negotiations among Parties.

¶ 10 Erskine May’s “Treatise on the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament” states that in nominating Members, the Committee of Selection is directed to have regard to Members’ qualifications and to the composition of the House, ensuring Committees reflect party-political composition. It is also explained that there is no limit to the number of Members who may be nominated to a Committee; Committees may be enlarged by adding Members in the same way as those originally nominated.

¶ 11 Therefore, in determining the composition of Committees, I am not in a position to breach the fundamentals of the Standing Orders of Parliament.

¶ 12 If any Party needs to exceed the recommended number of Members in a Committee, the decision should be taken in compromise with each stakeholder.

¶ 13 Finally, I request the Government and Opposition to get together to discuss at length how allocations can be increased in a compromised manner. I endorse that no Privilege of Members has been violated, since no clause of the said Act has clearly mentioned it. I urge you to understand the gravity of this problem and take this matter seriously to preserve parliamentary democracy.

¶ 14 Next, Papers to be presented.