Jan 31, Colombo: The committee appointed to formulate a solution to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka has proposed a Higher Appointments Council in place of the present Constitutional Council.

The proposed Higher Appointments Council (HAC) will comprise the Prime Minister, Speaker, Opposition Leader and six others appointed by the President.

A committee of Parliament composed of all parties in proportion to their representation in the House will nominate the six members to be appointed by the President. The appointment committee should include three persons to represent minority interests, appointed in consultation with MPs belonging to the minority communities.

Under the 17th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution introduced in 2001, the constitution was amended to establish independent commissions to administer the Police, Judiciary, Public Service and Elections.

Several constitutional bodies were created to ensure better performance of certain basic public authorities in the country and Constitutional Council was the most important of these new bodies.

The 10-member Council including the Prime Minister, the Speaker and the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament is entrusted with selecting appropriate persons to head Sri Lanka's main public authorities to ensure that only highly qualified individuals of the highest integrity would be appointed.

However the Constitutional Council has been inoperative since 2005 following the expiry of the term of office of the first Council.

The new council proposed will have powers to appoint the chairmen and the members of the commissions such as the Elections Commission, the National Public Services Commission, the National Police Service Commission, the Human Rights Commission, the Bribery Commission, the Finance Commission, the Delimitation Commission, the Official Languages Commission, and the Land and Water Commission.

The HAC will also approve the appointment of the Chief Justice and the Supreme Court judges, the President and the judges of the Court of Appeal and the members of the Judicial Services Commission. Besides this the Council should also approve the appointment of the Attorney General, the Auditor General, the Inspector General of Police, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (Ombudsman) and the Secretary General of Parliament.