18th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka

E790170

The 18th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka was a controversial 2010 constitutional change that removed presidential term limits and strengthened the powers of the executive presidency.

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Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka
constitutional amendment
allowed incumbent president to seek unlimited terms
changed procedure for appointments to independent commissions
controversial true
controversyType constitutional crisis concerns
country Sri Lanka
criticism concentrated power in the executive presidency
undermined democratic checks and balances
weakened independence of key state institutions
dateOfEnactment 2010-09-08
effectOnCommissions reduced independence of constitutional councils and commissions
effectOnPresidency strengthened powers of the executive presidency
governingBodyAtEnactment 14th Parliament of Sri Lanka NERFINISHED
governmentSystemContext semi-presidential system of Sri Lanka
headOfStateAtEnactment Mahinda Rajapaksa NERFINISHED
impact altered balance of power between executive and other branches
introducedBy government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa
languageOfText English
Sinhala
Tamil
legalDomain constitutional law of Sri Lanka
legalForm Act of Parliament of Sri Lanka
legalStatus was part of the Constitution of Sri Lanka until 2015
motivatedBy desire to consolidate executive power
opposedBy civil society organizations in Sri Lanka
opposition parties in Sri Lanka
partOf Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka NERFINISHED
passedBy Parliament of Sri Lanka NERFINISHED
precededBy 17th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka NERFINISHED
proposedBy United People’s Freedom Alliance government
region South Asia
relatedTo 19th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka NERFINISHED
removed constitutional two-term limit on presidency
presidential term limits in Sri Lanka
replaced 17th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka NERFINISHED
requiredParliamentaryMajority two-thirds majority
statusAfter2015 largely replaced and curtailed by the 19th Amendment
subject executive presidency of Sri Lanka
independent commissions
presidential term limits
supersededBy 19th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka
topic executive dominance in Sri Lankan politics
separation of powers in Sri Lanka
typeOfChange constitutional change
yearOfEnactment 2010

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka amendedBy 18th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka