The Sri Lankan Constitution of 1972 was a constitution of Sri Lanka, replaced by the 1978 constitution currently in force. It was Sri Lanka's first republican constitution, and its second since independence in 1948. The constitution changed the country's name from Ceylon to Sri Lanka, and established it as an independent republic. The country was officially designated as the "Republic of Sri Lanka," leading to the constitution being known as the 1972 Republican Constitution. The constitution was promulgated on 22 May 1972.
The arrival of the Portuguese in 1505 and their interest in the island altered the political landscape of the Sri Lankan state: the island had been ruled by seven native kingdoms in succession (at times several concurrently), with the Kingdom of Kotte first coming under Portuguese occupation. The Dutch ended Portuguese influence, and continued colonial occupation on the island from 1640 until 1796, when the British in turn replaced them. Unlike the Portuguese and Dutch, the British were eventually able to occupy the entirety of the island as a Crown colony, creating British Ceylon in 1815.
With British influence came ideas of democratic principles and governance, including the concept of a constitution- indeed, the Sri Lankan independence movement was notable for demanding self-rule and reform on a constitutional basis rather than through popular movements such as that in neighbouring India. The Dominion of Ceylon gained independence on 4 February 1948, adopting the Soulbury Constitution as its constitution. Executive power was nominally vested in the Sovereign of Ceylon, while legislative powers were vested with a semi-independent parliament. Several perceived weaknesses of the 1947 Soulbury Constitution, however, eventually led to calls for a replacement, particularly from nationalists and the Left, the Lanka Sama Samaja Party's Colvin R. de Silva being a central figure in the movement.
“We seek your mandate to permit the members of Parliament you elect to function simultaneously as a Constituent Assembly to draft, adopt and operate a new Constitution. This Constitution will declare Ceylon to be a free, sovereign and independent Republic pledged to realise the objectives of a socialist democracy; and it will also secure fundamental rights and freedoms to all citizens.”
The United Front, led by Sirimavo Bandaranaike's Sri Lanka Freedom Party, won the 1970 general election with a two-thirds majority. As Prime Minister, Bandaranaike convened a number of committees to draft a new constitution, including a drafting committee chaired by the Minister for Constitutional Affairs, Colvin R. de Silva.
On 19 July 1970, around 1,500 people, including parliamentarians and academics, gathered at the Navarangahala of Royal College, Colombo, where a Constitution Drafting Board chaired by Stanley Thilakaratne was appointed.
The resulting document was tabled in parliament, voted on and adopted on 22 May 1972 by a vote of 119 to 16 against.
Article 1 of this constitution declared Sri Lanka to be a free, sovereign and independent republic, while Article 2 declared it to be a unitary state.
The 1972 constitution paved the way for Sri Lanka to become a republic, cutting the final ties with its colonial past and British influence, and imparted a firm leftist nature to the state, allowing for the heavily socialist economic policies of the Bandaranaike government.
The main opposition party at the time, the United National Party (UNP), voted against the constitution's adoption on the following grounds:
Making a particular ideology a constitutional principle, and thereby depriving the people of the right to determine economic policies from time to time at periodic elections,
Including a truncated list of fundamental rights and almost nullifying their effect by making them subject to excessive restrictions and numerous principles of so-called state policy,
Failing to provide a simple and suitable remedy for the violation of a fundamental right,
Preserving laws hitherto in force even if they are inconsistent with fundamental rights,
Departing from the practice of all existing republics of directly or indirectly electing the Head of State, and providing instead for nomination by a political migratory figure,
Giving the members of the first National State Assembly a term of seven years,
Introducing control by the Cabinet of Ministers over the subordinate judiciary,
Depriving the judiciary of the power to determine the constitutional propriety of laws, and