A number of petitions have been filed at the Supreme Court challenging the Government’s proposed Port City Economic Commission Bill.
The United National Party (UNP) filed two separate petitions today on behalf of the General-Secretary of the UNP and the Chairman of the UNP. The Attorney-General has been named as a respondent in the petition.
Issuing a statement, the UNP pointed out that the Port City project is of national importance and if properly implemented will greatly benefit the country’s economy.
The Party further questioned as to why the process of this Bill, which is of national importance, has been carried out in a hurried manner, lacking any proper transparency.
This important piece of legislation has been presented to the Parliament on the eve of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, failing to allow for proper examination and consultation, the UNP said.
The Party said, accordingly, it has challenged the Bill on the grounds that it is inconsistent with the Constitution of the country and will fail to fulfill its purposes.
“This Bill, in its current form, is inconsistent with Parliament’s control over public finances, allows for the abuse of power and fails to ensure a transparent system of checks and balances, “it said.
The UNP said furthermore, the Bill is considered to be in violation of Articles 3 & 4 of the Constitution in regard to the Legislative, Judicial and Executive powers of the citizens of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka also filed a petition with the Supreme Court challenging the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill.
The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) had also filed a petition today challenging the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill.