The Parliament is a place where the elected representatives of the people meet to discuss matters of state and also to pass the various required laws for the country. Therefore it is called the legislature especially in those countries where the system of government is based on the Westminster model of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French word ‘parlement’ meaning discussion as the action of parler is to speak.
History
In ancient Greece, institutions similar to the Parliament can be seen like the Boule in Athens and the Apella in Sparta. In ancient Rome the Comitia Centuriata together with the Senate was like a modern bicameral Parliament. In ancient India, during the Vedic civilization, there are mentions of two Parliament-like gatherings of the Indo-Aryan kingdoms called the Sabha and the Samiti. The Sabha has been interpreted by the historians as a representative assembly of the elect, which ran day-to-day business with the king. The Samiti seems to be a gathering of all the male members of the kingdom, and convened only for the ratification of a new king. The Sabha and the Samiti bear almost no mention in later literature and after this, India would not have any democratic legislature till the British times, culminating in its modern democratic Parliament whose two Houses still bear the name of Sabha.
The origins of the modern concept of prime ministerial government go back to the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707 - 1800) and the Parliamentary System in Sweden (1721 – 1772) that coincided with each other. In theory, power resided in the monarch, who chaired the Cabinet and chose ministers. In reality, King George I's inability to speak English led the responsibility to the leading minister or prime minister to chair the Cabinet. At present a Parliament is either unicameral (one chamber) or bicameral (two chambers).
The Parliament of Sri Lanka
The first legislature established in Ceylon was the Legislative Council, which was established in 1833 recommended by the Colebrook-Cameron Commission. In 1931 the Legislative Council was dissolved and the more powerful State Council was established as provided by the Donoughmore Constitution. Prior to independence a new bicameral parliament was established in 1947, according to the recommendations of the Soulbury Commission. It was based on the Westminster model with an upper house called the Senate and a lower house called the House of Representatives. The Senate was abolished in 1971 and the new unicameral National State Assembly was setup under the 1972 Republican Constitution.
The current Parliament of Sri Lanka is elected under the framework of the 1978 Constitution. It is also a unicameral legislature with 225 members elected for a 6 year term. The Speaker presides over the Parliament while the President has the power to suspend, prorogue, summon or to dissolve Parliament. The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka is D.M. Jayaratne and the Speaker is Chamal Rajapakse. The Parliament building is situated in Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte and was designed by renowned architect Geoffrey Bawa.
