The Parliament of Ceylon was the

legislative body A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers o ...

British Ceylon British Ceylon (; ), officially British Settlements and Territories in the Island of Ceylon with its Dependencies from 1802 to 1833, then the Island of Ceylon and its Territories and Dependencies from 1833 to 1931 and finally the Island of Cey ...

Dominion of Ceylon Ceylons:Sri Lanka Independence Act 1947, The Sri Lanka Independence Act 1947 uses the name "Ceylon" for the new dominion; nowhere does that Act use the term "Dominion of Ceylon", which although sometimes used was not the official name. was an ...

(now

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Constitution, prior to independence on 4 February 1948. Parliament replaced the

State Council of Ceylon The State Council of Ceylon was the unicameral legislature for Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), established in 1931 by the Donoughmore Constitution. The State Council gave universal adult franchise to the people of the colony for the first time. It ...

. Parliament was based on the

Westminster model The Westminster system, or Westminster model, is a type of parliamentary system, parliamentary government that incorporates a series of Parliamentary procedure, procedures for operating a legislature, first developed in England. Key aspects of ...

with an upper house, the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, whose members were indirectly elected or appointed, and a lower house, the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

, whose members were directly elected or appointed. The House of Representatives consisted of 101 members, of whom 95 were elected and six appointed by the

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

(increased to 157 in 1960, 151 elected and six appointed). The Senate consisted of 30 Members, of whom 15 were elected by the House of Representatives and 15 appointed by the Governor-General. The Senate was abolished on 2 October 1971 by the eighth amendment to the Soulbury Constitution. The new Republican Constitution of Sri Lanka, adopted on 22 May 1972, replaced the House of Representatives (and Parliament) with the

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

National State Assembly The National State Assembly (NSA) was the legislative body of Sri Lanka established in May 1972 under the Sri Lankan Constitution of 1972, First Republican Constitution. The assembly was introduced by Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Si ...

. The members elected in 1970, continued to hold their seats in the new National State Assembly. The ruling coalition decided early with its majority in parliament that the legislative term after adoption of the new constitution was extended by two years so that the National State Assembly had five years until 1977 when the first general elections under the new constitution were held.

References

External links

Parliamentary of Sri Lanka
{{Legislatures of modern Sri Lanka 1947 establishments in Ceylon 1972 disestablishments in Sri Lanka Government of Sri Lanka

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

See also

References

External links