The Expert Committee on the new Constitution led by Romesh de Silva PC will wrap up public hearings, the first component of the process on December 31. The time span for public hearings by the Committee was extended from November 30 to December 31 by the Government to ensure people’s opinions are taken into consideration. The deadline will not be extended further, Justice Minister Ali Sabry told the Sunday Observer.
The Expert Committee was the first step towards replacing the present 1978 Constitution which has been amended 20 times, in keeping with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s pledge in his election manifesto.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the appointment of the Committee on September 2 with a mandate to prepare a preliminary draft for a new Constitution. The Committee sat every week regularly since September, the Minister said. The Government has pledged to introduce the new Constitution within one year of the appointment of the Expert Committee.
.The other members of the committee are Gamini Marapana PC, Manohara De Silva PC, Sanjeewa Jayawardena PC, Samantha Ratwatte PC, Prof. Naazima Kamardeen, Dr. A. Sarveswaran, Prof. Wasantha Seneviratne and Prof. G.L. Peiris.