Lankan Pizza and Power Sharing of “Federalism

Pizza is one of the widely relished fast food by millions of people world wide. It has everything - from vegetables to meat and can be customized based on the taste of the consumer. The common ingredients are bread base, tomato sauce, cheese, onions, red bell peppers and olives - chicken or Sausage etc.
Well, if I had to relate pizza to federal power sharing systems of some nations across the world:
USA - Pizza with everything except olives.
Switzerland - Pizza that is delicious & complete.
India - Pizza without cheese and olives.
Sri Lanka (13th Amendment) - A Pizza with no bread base, no cheese, no tomato sauce, no onions, no olives, nor chicken; but Just red bell peppers.
United States of America:
The U.S. Constitution establishes a government based on sharing of power between national and state governments. While each of the 50 states have its own constitution, all provisions of state constitutions must comply with the U.S. Constitution. Under this Constitution both the national and state governments are granted certain exclusive powers and share other powers.
Exclusive Powers of the National government include:
* Print money (bills and coins)* Declare and End war* Establish armed forces* Enter into treaties with foreign governments* Regulate commerce between states and international trade* Establish post offices and issue postage stamps* Enact laws necessary to enforce the constitution


Powers reserved for the national and state governments as well as the powers they share are laid out in the U.S. Constitution.
Exclusive Powers of State governments include:

* Establish local governments* Issue licenses (driver, hunting, marriage, etc.)* Regulate intrastate (within the state) commerce* Conduct elections* Ratify amendments to the U.S. constitution* Provide for public health and safety* Exercise powers neither delegated to the national government or prohibited from the states by the U.S. constitution (Ex: setting legal drinking and smoking age)
Powers shared by National and State government:
* Setting up courts* Creating and collecting taxes* Building highways* Borrowing money* Enacting and enforcing laws* Chartering banks and corporations* Spending money for the betterment of the general welfare* Taking (condemning) private property with just compensation
Switzerland:
Switzerland is a multi-ethnic, multilingual and multi-confessional nation shaped by the will of its people. It has been a federal State since 1848. Switzerland has a federal structure of the confederation and the cantons.
Confederation:
The Confederation is the name used in Switzerland for the state. In the Confederation, there are three powers: the executive (the Federal Council), the legislature (the Federal Assembly) and the judiciary (the Federal Supreme Court).
Cantons:
Switzerland is made up of 26 states known as cantons. They are the states that originally united in 1848 to form the Confederation, to which they each relinquished part of their sovereignty. In all the cantons the cantonal governments are elected directly by the people and therefore they hold a strong position in cantonal politics.
Tasks:
The cantonal governments are the highest executive authorities in the cantons. Firstly, they are responsible for the activities of government and are in charge of the cantonal administrations. They are for example responsible for preliminary legislative procedures, and they draw up the financial plan and budget and represent the canton both within the canton itself and at national and international levels.
Important areas of activity in all Cantonal administrations are:
* Finance* Justice* Economics* Education* Social services* Police/Security* Planning and building
India:
India is a federal State with a national government and a government of each constituent state. Although the structure of India is federal in a general way, there are yet certain aspects that are unique to India. The Indian government follows a strong central bias. The states enjoy relative autonomy in India. There is autonomy in the legislative, executive as well as the judicial powers for the states of India. The Union list:
Contains legislations, on which the Union enjoys exclusive control. Of the total 99 subjects that are included in the Union list, some are :* Defense* Banking* Taxes* Coinage* Insurance* Currency* Union Duties* Foreign Affairs
The State list:
There are a total of 69 subjects in this particular list, all of which are exclusive legislative powers of the State. Some of the subjects enlisted in the State list are :* Public order and Police* State Taxes and Duties* Agriculture* Sanitation* Local governments* Forests* Fisheries* Public Health
The Concurrent List:
This list contains 52 items, which are powers vested on the State as well as the Union. Some of the subjects included are:* Economic and Social planning* Criminal law and procedure* Civil procedure* Torts* Trusts* Marriage* Education* Welfare and Labor
Sri Lanka:
Following the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement of July 29, 1987, the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lanka Constitution was introduced in October 1987 providing for an elected provincial council, a provincial board of ministers with a chief minister and a provincial governor.
The governor, though not elected, holds all the power, and the ministers, though elected, virtually have no power. There is in reality no devolution of power to the provinces.
Provincial Governor:
Under the 13th Amendment, the President appoints the provincial governor and can dismiss him/her. The governor holds executive power in the province in relation to those matters, which are within the competence of the provincial council. Since the constitution vests executive power in the president, it follows that the governor is subject to control by the president. The governor can exercise his executive power either directly or through the board of ministers or through the members of the provincial public service. The disciplinary control of officers of the province is vested in the governor. The governor will alsodetermine terms and conditions of their employment. In this circumstance, the board of ministers in effect becomes redundant. The functions of the chief minister and the board of ministers are to aid and advise the governor in the exercise of his functions. The chief minister must communicate all decisions of the board of ministers to the governor. The governor will exercise executive power also in respect of all provincial legislation passed by the provincial council. The governor is empowered to make rules for allocation of business among ministers. The governor can summon the provincial council, including ministers and give instructions.
If the council fails to comply with any instruction, the president can declare that the powers of the council will be exercised by parliament and that the powers of the ministers will be exercised by the president. The governor has the discretion to ignore the advice of the chief minister and board of ministers. Whether any matter requires the advice of the chief minister will be decidedby the governor on the direction of the president and this cannot be called into question in any court.
Finance:
Under the 13th Amendment, a Finance Commission consisting of the Governor of the Central Bank, Secretary to the Treasury and three other members each representing the three major communities (appointed by the president) will recommend the amount to be allocated from the annual budget to meet the needs of the province. The president will decide the amount. The provincial council cannot pass any laws imposing, altering, and abolishing any taxes in the province without the recommendation of the governor. No money can be withdrawn or utilized from the provincial fund (which will include money allocated by the central government, taxes and levies) without the sanction of the governor. The provincial council does not have powers to borrow internally and externally, provide guarantees and indemnities, receive aid directly and engage in or regulate internal and external trade.
Take over of functions:
Under the Sri Lanka Constitution all powers of auditing of accounts in relation to monies received from international sources are vested in the auditor-general appointed by the president.
If the President is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the provincial administration cannot be carried out (for example, if the provincial council does not act in accordance with the recommendation of the governor in the case of taxes), the President can take over the functions of the governor, the chief minister and the ministers and also declare that the powers of the provincial council are vested in the central parliament. This cannot be called intoquestion in any court.
Advice:
Under the 13th Amendment, the chief minister and the board of ministers can advise the governor only in respect of matters on which the provincial council can pass laws. They cannot even advise over other matters such as:
A. Police:
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), who reports directly to the president, will be the head of all provincial police forces. A Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) will head the provincial division of the police force. The DIG will be appointed by the IGP with the concurrence of the chief minister, but if there is no agreement, the President will appoint the DIG after consulting the chief minister. The DIG will be responsible to answer the chief minister and function under his control. But there are no provisions for the exercise of such control other than through the IGP and the president.
Offences against a public officer, prejudicial to national security or maintenance of essential services will not be within the competence of the provincial police force. These offences are under the jurisdiction of the national police division.
B. Land and land settlement:
Although this matter is in the Provincial List under the 13th Amendment, the disposal of land within the province will be under the direct control of the president. State lands will not be vested in the provincial council and therefore it will not be able to distribute land to the people in the province. There is a long- standing complaint of the people in the north-east relating to distribution of state lands to those from outside the north-east and forcible occupation of private lands as a result of government-organized colonization or settlement programs.
Judiciary:
Under the Sri Lanka Constitution, judicial power is exercised by parliament through courts established by law. The President appoints the judges of the Supreme Court. Under the 13th Amendment, a High Court is established for the province. The Chief Justice chooses the High Court judge for a province from among the High Court judges and is appointed by the President.
The three lists:
The 13th Amendment provides three lists: Provincial Council List - The provincial council may make laws applicable to the province in respect of matters in this list. Concurrent List - Both the Sri Lanka Parliament and the provincial council may legislate on matters in this list. Reserved List - Only parliament may make laws in respect of matters in this list.
Despite this, the central parliament will be able to legislate by a simple majority on all subjects on grounds of national policy. This would enable parliament to legislate in respect of any matters in all three lists.
Conclusion:
Based on the above comparison analysis, any one with a fair understanding of what “federalism” represents would conclude that Tamils have literally no control over either the executive or the legislature or the judiciary branch of the proposed Indo-Lankan agreement - 13th Amendments to the Sri Lanka Constitution.
If some countries, organizations or individuals continue to advocate what was offered in the “13th Amendment to the Sri Lanka Constitution” was at best, let them first sell this recipe to their respective country and relish the Pizza (of just red bell peppers).