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Interpretation.

170. In the Constitution—

“civic disability” shall have the same meaning as in the Special Presidential Commissions of Inquiry Law, No. 7 of 1978, as on the commencement of the Constitution;

“commencement of the Constitution” means the date appointed by the Proclamation made under Article 172;

“conclusion of the General Election” means the time at which Members of Parliament for all the electoral districts in respect of which a poll has been taken on the date or dates specified in the Proclamation made under Article 70 (5) have been declared elected by the respective returning officers, or when on the results declared more than half the total membership of Parliament consists of Members belonging to any single recognized political party or independent group, whichever event occurs earlier;

"existing law” and “existing written law” mean any law and written law, respectively, in force immediately before the commencement of the Constitution which under the Constitution continue in force;

“judicial officer", other than in Article 114, means any person who holds office as -

(a) a Judge of the Supreme Court or a Judge of the Court of Appeal;

(b) any Judge of the High Court or any Judge, presiding officer or member of any other Court of First Instance, tribunal or institution created and established for the administration of justice or for the adjudication of any labour or other dispute but does not include a person who performs arbitral functions or a public officer whose principal duty or duties is or are not the performance of functions of a judicial nature.

No court or tribunal or institution shall have jurisdiction to determine the question whe­ther a person is a judicial officer within the meaning of the Constitution but such question shall be determined by the Judicial Service Commission whose decision thereon shall be final and conclusive.

No act of such person or proceeding held before such person, prior to such determination, shall be deemed to be invalid by reason of such determination;

“law” means any Act of Parliament, and any law enacted by any legislature at any time prior to the com­mencement of the Constitution and includes an Order in Council;

“local authority” means any Municipal Council, Urban Council, Town Council or Village Council and includes any Authority created and established by or under any law to exercise, perform and discharge powers, duties and functions corresponding to or similar to the powers, duties and functions exercised, performed and discharged by any such Council;

“public corporation” means any corporation, board or other body which was or is established by or under any written law other than the Companies Ordinance, with funds or capital wholly or partly provided by the Government by way of grant, loan or otherwise;

“public officer” means a person who holds any paid office under the Republic other than a judicial officer but does not include—

(a) the President;
(b) the Speaker;
(c) a Minister;
(d) a member of the Judicial Service Commission;
(e) a member of the Public Service Commission;
(f) a Deputy Minister;
(g) a Member of Parliament;
(h) the Secretary-General of Parliament;
(i) a member of the President’s staff;
(j) a member of the staff of the Secretary-General of Parliament

"recognized political party” means unless Parliament otherwise provides, every political party which is treated as a recognized political party under the Ceylon (Parliamentary Elections) Order in Council, 1946;

“territorial waters" includes the territorial sea and the historic waters of Sri Lanka;

“written law” means any law and subordinate legislation and includes statutes made by a Provincial Council, Orders,[1] Proclamations, Rules, By-laws and Regulations made or issued by any body or person having power or authority under any law to make or issue the same.

[1] Substituted by the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution Sec. 6, for “and includes orders.”