State Council of Ceylon | |
|---|---|
| British Ceylon | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Established | 1931 |
| Disbanded | 1947 |
| Preceded by | Legislative Council of Ceylon |
| Succeeded by | Parliament of Ceylon |
| Seats | 58 |
| Elections | |
Last election | 1936 Ceylonese State Council election |
| Meeting place | |
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| The State Council building inGalle Face Green,Colombo. The building was used by the State Council's successors (theHouse of Representatives of Ceylon,National State Assembly, andParliament of Sri Lanka) until 1982. Today it is known as theOld Parliament Building and houses thePresidential Secretariat. | |
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Politics of Sri Lanka |
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TheState Council of Ceylon was theunicameral legislature forCeylon (nowSri Lanka), established in 1931 by theDonoughmore Constitution. The State Council gaveuniversal adult franchise to the people of the colony for the first time. It replaced theLegislative Council of Ceylon, the colony's original legislative body.
There were only two State Councils: the First, elected in1931, and the Second, elected in1936. The 1947Soulbury Constitution replaced the State Council with theParliament of Ceylon, as part of a process of constitutional development leading up to independence, which took place on 4 February 1948.
Due to Ceylonese demands for constitutional reform, aroyal commission was established by the British authorities under the chairmanship of theEarl of Donoughmore. The Donoughmore Commission arrived in the colony in 1927, before returning to the United Kingdom where it issued its report. The Commission proposed reforms which were implemented as the so-calledDonoughmore Constitution, resulting in the abolition of theLegislative Council of Ceylon as the colony's legislature, and its replacement by a "State Council" in 1931.
The structure and working of the State Council was experimental, and was based in part on the United Kingdom'sLondon County Council. The State Council functioned in both an executive and legislative capacity, with seven committees performing executive duties. Each committee consisted of designated members of the State Council, and was chaired by an elected Ceylonese who was addressed as minister. The Ceylonese ministers formed a board of ministers with three British officials of ministerial rank who handled defence, external affairs, finance, and judicial matters.
The Donoughmore Constitution was not considered a great success, and this combined with Ceylonese demands for further constitutional reform led to a new commission being established, under the chairmanship ofHerwald Ramsbotham, 1st Viscount Soulbury, which arrived in Ceylon in 1944. Based on the report by theSoulbury Commission, a new constitution was created, by which the State Council was replaced by aParliament, elections for which were conducted in 1947. Negotiations with Ceylon's newly elected government resulted in the British granting Ceylon independence as adominion in 1948.
The State Council consisted of 58 members, of whom 50 were elected by universal suffrage, and 8 appointed by theGovernor.
The Clerk of the State Council was the senior administrative officer of council and an apolitical civil servant.
